


Marketing Malfoy's

by digthewriter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Bottom Harry, Businessman Harry, Doubtful Draco, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Miscommunication, Oral Sex, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-03 08:33:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 37,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5283917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digthewriter/pseuds/digthewriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What may have seemed like a one night stand becomes a complication when Draco foolishly mixes business with pleasure. Except Harry insists that pleasure and business are two separate things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Warning** : Non-magic AU/Muggle AU
> 
>  **Disclaimer** : Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended. No offence is intended. This was written for fun and not for profit.
> 
>  **Notes** : This is a work in progress and I'm doing my best to finish the story off. More notes will follow as chapters continue to be published. This is inspired by the book "Gold Digger" by Alexandr Voinov and no copyright infringement or offence is intended. I've changed the story around completely with a different beginning and a different ending - trying to keep all my characters very IC with the Harry Potter universe. When I read GD, I couldn't get it out of my mind and then this story idea happened when I was on holiday and when I say inspiration -- that's really what it is. Still, if you've read GD you might find similarities. I hope you enjoy. All my thanks to my beta DGG for being the best. All the remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> \--------------
> 
> ETA: as I continue writing this story - 6 months later - I'm discovering that I've totally diverged away from the original premise/inspiration for MM from GD so it's actually like, nothing like GD, anymore. But I'll keep this comment on here. x 

Draco took in the scent of yesterday's washed hair as it tickled his face. The man next to him was someone he'd met last night at Daphne's party and though lust at first sight wasn't a new thing for him, wanting to take the man home immediately, spend every waking moment of the night with him, and the desire to do it all over again, certainly was. The sex hadn't been overly venturesome since they'd both been a bit drunk, but still, feeling Harry, exploring his body, having him come in Draco's mouth was still exceptional.

Harry stirred next to him, and Draco's hand smoothed down Harry's back until it reached the curve of his back, before he caressed his arse. He felt Harry smile against his shoulder and kiss it softly. 

"I take it, you remember me, then?" Draco whispered against Harry's hair that was still overpowering his senses. 

Harry chuckled. "You're the gorgeous blond with Mommy issues, right?"

Draco squeezed Harry's arse in reprimand. "Haha, you're just so funny," he said. "And it wasn't Mommy issues; it was more like it's tough to find someone who can handle my mother, instead." Draco didn't know why, but he really did need to defend his mother at any chance he'd get. He had the utmost respect for the woman and couldn't handle anyone saying anything negative about her—even as a joke. 

"I know," Harry said, sounding slightly serious now. He turned on his side to face Draco, and inched himself closer so Draco could still have his hold around Harry. 

The fact that Harry hadn't even for a moment shown any regrets about the night before, delighted him. 

"Having good family values is a turn on, believe it or not," Harry said and pressed his growing erection against Draco's thigh. This was the most bizarre conversation he'd ever had with anyone in bed. Come to think of it, this was the most conversation Draco had ever had with someone in bed, in a long time. Most of his conquests lately had been either disappointing or disappointed in the morning. They were out of the door within five minutes of waking, and if Harry wanted more, that was definitely something Draco could provide. 

Draco reluctantly released Harry's arse and moved his hand, placing his index finger on Harry's chin. He averted Harry's gaze towards him, and then pressed down to kiss him. At first it was tentative, as if they were learning to explore each other's mouths again for the first time — at least sober, anyway. And as soon as the kiss deepened, Draco's mobile rang. On cue, with his luck, of course.

Draco groaned against Harry's lips and slightly pulled away. Harry gave him a look, in a way that he was asking, _do you really have to_? He hesitated for a moment before answering Harry. "It's my mother," and Harry gave a chuckle. "I would let it go, but she'll only keep calling. If I pick up and tell her that I'll call her back, it might be a bit more _advantageous_ for us."

Harry smiled softly and nodded. "Of course, anything for our advantage," he said with a wink. 

Draco quickly kissed Harry's nose and turned to his side to grab his mobile. Inadvertently, he pulled the covers off Harry, exposing Harry's perfect body and hard cock. Draco groaned again. He was getting a bit too frustrated and needy about having Harry again. 

"Hello," he said into the phone when Harry pulled the covers back and shielded his sexy body. Good thing, of course, Draco should not be looking at his naked lover, while he spoke on the phone with his mother.

"Draco, it's your mother."

Draco gave a short laugh. "Good morning, Mother," he said, amused.

"Are you still in bed?"

"It's Sunday, Mother."

"I know what day it is," she said, sounding offended. "We have dinner plans for tonight."

"Yes, I'm aware," Draco said, looking at Harry and rolled his eyes. Harry laughed silently at Draco's reaction.

"Why do you sound strange? Do you have company?"

Draco thought about lying, but he knew that his mother could always tell. "Yes," he said.

"What's his name?"

"Harry," Draco said, looking dead into Harry's green eyes which widened with a bit of astonishment. 

"He's handsome, then."

Draco laughed again. "Mother, did you want something?" he asked, turning away from Harry again and staring at the ceiling. 

"Pansy says you've been avoiding her," his mother cut to the chase, she was always good like that.

"I'm not avoiding her. I've been busy. We are meeting for drinks on Wednesday, and I don't know why she keeps calling. Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait until then." Before his mother could argue, Draco quickly added, "I really have to go. I'll see you tonight."

"Will you bring Harry?"

Draco sighed, annoyed. "I'm sure he's busy."

"You haven't asked."

"And I'm not going to."

"You must ask him. I have to meet this man that has my son already wrapped around his finger."

"I'm not wrapp— Fine, I'll ask him. But, I'm sure he's busy."

"Wait, before you go. Where did you meet this Harry?"

"Daphne's dinner party," Draco said, lying. Daphne didn't host dinner parties, unless one considered her bowl of crisps, and pizza with tequila shots a nutritious meal. "Goodbye, then," he added and quickly hung up. He knew she wouldn't call him back. She had enough information to investigate about Harry now. She'd busy herself with that, he was sure.

"Sorry about that," Draco said, turning his attention to Harry again. "Thanks for being okay with that." He scrunched up his nose and shrugged. At least he hoped Harry was okay with it. 

"You told her about me?"

"She asked me what your name was."

"She knew you had someone in bed?"

"I don't usually sleep in, so she knew something was _different_. And it's been a while so I think she was hoping, rather than, assuming."

"What did she want you to ask me?"

Draco shook his head and pulled Harry closer. He started with a small kiss on Harry's jaw then started to work his way down his throat and shoulder. "We have dinner every Sunday, she asked me to invite you." Draco's reaction was nonchalant on purpose. He didn't want to freak Harry out like that. It was one thing for the bloke to know Draco had a close relationship with his mother, and another to already start inviting him to places. Especially, when Draco didn't even know Harry's full name, and he didn't know Draco's. 

No matter how good it felt to have this man in his bed, this could still, very well be a one-off.

Things were just about getting started once more when Draco's mobile rang. Again. "Oh, for the love of..." he complained when Harry laughed, his body vibrating against Draco's. 

"It's fine. You can answer it; I have to use the loo, anyway."

Harry pulled away from Draco and slided off the bed. He found his shorts and put them on before he left the room, and Draco watched him walk away, admiring his arse all the way. 

"This better be good," Draco said into the phone.

"Do you know who you took home last night?" Daphne's voice nearly screeched through Draco's ear-drums.

"Ow," Draco said, pulling the phone away. "What the actual fuck, Daph?"

Daphne Greengrass, was a year younger than Draco, but she acted as though she were still twenty two. Not that there was anything wrong with being a party-girl, but she hadn't realised her friends were starting to get married, and old, and she possibly just needed to find some new ones. Even Astoria, who was three years younger than Daphne, was married, and with a kid. 

Of course, Astoria had been swept up off her feet by Pansy when _she_ was only twenty-one, and had never looked back. Draco never understood what she'd seen in his step-sister. Pansy was a nightmare, on a good day. 

"That's Harry Potter, Draco. Harry _Potter_ ," she said, ignoring his complaints. "I saw the two of you chatting last night but I didn't know you'd actually taken him home. Your mother called me to ask about him—"

"Oh, fucking hell," Draco said, annoyed at his mother's meddling, and then the fact that Draco took home the same man he was seeking out employment from. Of course, they hadn't met yet. Draco's proposal was to be delivered at Potter and Friends, Inc. on Monday morning. "Listen, Daph. I've gotta go. Thanks for the heads up, I'll call you later, and _stop_ talking to my mother!"

Draco hung up the phone quickly when Harry entered the room. This couldn't possibly be happening. Why was the man who was one of the hottest fucks he'd had in a long time, the same man who was going to be his boss? _Bloody hell_.

"Everything okay?" Harry asked, clearly sensing the tension in the room. He slid back into bed with Draco, and Draco tried to school his face.

"Potter?" was all Draco said, when Harry looked like Draco had just given him a shock. 

"Yeah?" Harry said, sounding concerned. "And I still don't know your name."

"Draco," he said. The night before, Draco had only introduced himself as D, because, for the longest time, Draco had told his friends to start calling him that. In public, at least. Draco wasn't exactly a common name, like Harry, and saying Draco only led to him telling the other party he was a Malfoy. His father was still haunting him from his grave—that's what it'd always felt like, anyway. "Draco Malfoy," he added a moment later.

"Oh," Harry said, finally putting the pieces together. "Marketing Malfoy's?"

"The very same," Draco said, with disappointment. How was this going to work now? Was Draco just going to ask Harry to leave? Call him a taxi? They'd walked home from Daphne's place last night, since Draco didn't leave terribly far from her. He had no idea where Harry lived.

"You know, it's not _my_ project," Harry said, as Draco felt him shift and realised he was taking his pants off and throwing them on the floor. Evidently, Harry had decided to stay. 

"What?" Draco asked, in confusion. He put his mobile on vibrate and all but threw it on the floor where it landed with a thump on top of _his_ clothes. 

"The Weasleys run the toy division," Harry said, and removed the blankets off them. He settled himself in between Draco's legs and slid down. "Besides, this is personal, not business. _Pleasure_ , and not business."

Before Draco could say anything else, Harry started to stroke him. "Harr—Pott—" Draco moaned and tilted his head back, meeting the headboard. "Fuck..." It didn't take him long to get hard, and then Harry was licking the head of his cock, before taking him in. This was a very bad idea, he knew it so, but then Harry had just said the words: _pleasure, and not business_.

-*-*-

"I'm free by the way," Harry said, after he and Draco had got dressed.

Coming into Harry's mouth for the second time had been just as amazing as the first. After Harry had released his limp cock, Draco had pushed him back on the bed and got him off his with hand. Harry writhed, and moaned, and gasped in all the right ways, that Draco was willing to forget who they were for that moment. Until the silence after the high of the orgasm had become awkward, and Draco didn't know if shagging his potential employer had really been the worst decision he'd unknowingly made.

"Free for what?" Draco asked with mix of hesitation and confusion. 

"Dinner tonight. If you were really asking," Harry said.

"You want...to meet...my mother?" Draco was having a hard time thinking up the words. How was he supposed to react now? Why would Harry Potter, CEO of Potter Industries, want to meet his one-off's mum? This had to be a joke. There was no way in hell this was Harry Potter. There was no way in hell, this was really happening.

"Sure," Harry said, shrugging. "I'd like to see you again."

"Mr Potter—"

"Whoa!" Harry said with his hands up in front of his chest and took a step back. He looked amused, which only aggravated Draco. "Harry. _Please_ for the love of God, Harry. No one calls me Mr Potter. That would be my deceased father."

Draco felt a pang of guilt in his chest and he calmed down. "Harry. Now that we know who we are, I really don't think this is a good idea. I mean, I'm pitching for a job at your company tomorrow. The company you are the CEO of. And I don't think continuing to sleep together would be lucrative, or smart, or professional—"

"All good words," Harry interrupted. "But, like I said, you're meeting with the toy division. Potter and Friends, that's not my department. It only merged with Potter Industries after the Weasley twins consolidated their business with ours. They run the division. I only sit in meetings for formality purposes. I don't make _any_ decisions."

He took a breath before continuing. Possibly because he'd seen the hesitation on Draco's face which was still there, "If your performance _there_ is as good as it's been _here_..." Draco wanted to smack the smirk off his face—or kiss it—he wasn't sure. "I'm sure the Weasleys would like for you to run the campaign. What you and I do is personal, not business."

Draco still wasn't convinced. 

"Of course, you want to take the time to think about it," Harry said. How he was able to read Draco's mind, Draco had no idea. "Can I still take you to breakfast?"

-*-*-

Draco dressed quickly and they made their way to a little café around the corner from his place.

"How do you know Daphne?" Harry asked when they found a table after placing their orders at the counter. Harry insisted on paying and Draco couldn't stop him. He figured, not arguing with the future boss, would probably be beneficial.

"She's sort of part of my family." When Draco saw the confused look on Harry, he continued. "My sister Pansy is married to Astoria, Daphne's older sister."

"You have a sister? Is she the one you're meeting with on Wednesday?" Draco looked at him with surprise, and then he remembered that he'd spoke about Pansy to his mother on the phone earlier. 

"Step sister. My mother married Mr Parkinson, Pansy's dad, a few years after my father passed. We grew up together, anyway, like brother and sister, and it was like the marriage only made the family relations more official. Except, she's always been sort of a pain in the arse and now I have to legally deal with it." He laughed. Pansy really had put him through a lot of hoops and demanded some things Draco wasn't always comfortable with.

"Where do you live?" Draco asked, purposefully changing the topic.

"Islington," Harry said, acknowledging somehow that Draco didn't really wish to discuss his family any more. If Harry knew he was a Malfoy, then he'd know his family history. "My godfather's place. I'd inherited it after his passing."

Draco nodded. He remembered he had family there once, his mother had told him. Except, they were also all dead now. He hadn't been to his cousin's house since he was maybe six. A lot could have changed in twenty-four years.

When the food arrived, it was more awkward silence. Draco concentrated on the eggs and Harry on his beans and toast. Draco didn't think he'd had this much coffee in a long time. He always drank _too much_ coffee when he was nervous and he had quite the reason to be nervous today. 

"Thanks for breakfast," Draco said to Harry as they walked towards a Taxi Station and he was getting ready to see Harry off. 

"It's been a pleasure," Harry said with a wink and Draco couldn't' help but smile. Harry...definitely was something else. Draco parted his lips, trying to think of what to say to tell Harry they couldn't do this. _He_ couldn't do this. He didn't mix business with pleasure, and he most certainly wouldn't have been able to keep it separated, either. His father had made all the wrong choices, and Draco wasn't about to do the same.

Before the words could even come out, Harry pulled Draco towards him and kissed him. A deep, rousing kiss nearly making Draco forget his own name. What was it about Harry that made Draco always toss caution to the wind, and he'd just met this man. 

_Fuck, you are in so much trouble, Draco Malfoy_.

"I _would_ like to see you again, but you can call the shots as you see them, Draco," Harry said, and that's when Draco realised—up until that point, Harry hadn't called him by his name. The night before, and in bed this morning, he'd moaned _D_. Now, Draco wanted to know what Harry sounded like with _Draco_ on his tongue, while he sucked Harry off to orgasm.

 _Stop thinking about that_. 

"I'll see you tomorrow at the office," Draco said, with as much apathy as he could muster. It was the way he operated. He caught the disappointment in Harry's eyes before Harry quickly diverted them away. 

"Very well, then," Harry said, and then he was off.

As Draco walked away, he found his mobile and called his partner. "Neville," he spoke into the receiver, "I'm going to go through the presentation again and send you the final copy tonight."

"Again?" Neville asked, and Draco heard Hannah in the background. 

"Yes. I need it to be perfect," Draco said.

"It's already perfect. But you're the boss, Boss," Neville said, and hung up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco's company makes the presentation, and Neville finds out.

Draco and Neville arrived at Potter Industries headquarters twenty minutes before their appointed meeting time. Draco had one hell of a night trying to sleep, and he'd eventually given it up. After dodging questions about Harry from his mother during dinner, Draco had only re-lived their hot encounter alone in bed.

He considered Harry's proposition, since the man had been so hell bent on it, but when they were face to face again, Harry looked right through him. Maybe it was just an act, or maybe he'd lost interest; Draco decided not to dwell on it.

Harry had looked so different that Draco had almost not recognised him at first. His hair was slicked back, he wore a three piece navy blue suit, which sort of made his green eyes pop even more, and he wore glasses. Glasses! Draco reckoned the evening before he was either wearing contacts or these glasses were low prescription. Draco didn't think the man could have looked hotter than yesterday, but he'd been undoubtedly mistaken.

It wasn't news to anyone that the Weasleys had started their business up from scratch. That was why Draco had targeted them as his first high end profile client for Marketing Malfoy's. His father's PR firm from before, Lucius Malfoy Public Relations, had clients who all came from "old money," and that's where he'd gone all wrong. His father had been so deeply involved in all the scandal—it'd destroyed his career, eventually, driving him to alcohol, depression and the worst, suicide.

Draco wasn't going to make the same mistake again. He’d got into advertising for the glory, sure, but also because he liked the creativity behind it. He only wanted to market products he believed in, and sought out the right company, the right approach, rather than where the money was. Draco could have lived off his grandfather's inheritance moderately and comfortably for the rest of his life, but he wanted to make something of himself, and Potter and Friends was the first step. 

"Good morning, gentlemen," Draco said, as Neville shut off the lights and pressed the "full screen" button on the laptop. Their presentation was on the overhead project, and it was time to start the show.

-*-*-

After the presentation was over, the lights were back on, and the laptop was closed, Draco looked around the room. Harry smiled at him, looking impressed, or so Draco thought. Or maybe he was just thinking about sex again, it wouldn't have surprised Draco, at all. The Weasley twins sat on either side of Harry; they looked at each other and seemed to be communicating telepathically.

"I'm impressed," the Weasley on the left said. "What do you think, George?"

Ah, Fred on the left, George on the right, then. Fred wore a red tie, and George was wearing a dark blue one. This was going to be just a bit easier now.

"It seemed a bit targeted towards our product," George said, sounding smug, which Draco thought was totally weird. 

"It is," Neville jumped in. "We cater to our clients one hundred percent. We made this presentation based on our research for World Wide Weasleys, and from your merger with your new name, Potter and Friends. Fun, education, and toddler proof, we believe in the product and we want to help you launch your new merchandise. Draco worked especially hard on this and—"

"Why aren't you continuing the work of Lucius Malfoy Public Relations?" George asked, cutting Neville off.

Draco had expected this. This wasn't surprising at all. The fact that Fred looked surprised, was interesting to watch. It was almost as if they'd discussed this earlier, and George was breaking some sort of a rule. Potter, _Harry_ , looked displeased, as well. 

Of course, Lucius, Draco's late father, had been kind of an arse to Arthur Weasley, former Chief Inspector; assuredly, everyone in the room but George had forgotten that.

"If I must be frank?" Draco asked, and everyone nodded, Neville looked nervous.

"My father liked money. He supported campaigns that were financially profitable, and nothing more. I don't believe in that. That's why I didn't pick up where he left off. I like my head attached to my body, thank you very much," Draco teased. "I wanted to get into non-profit PR and I can't do that now because of who my father was. I'm good— _we're_ good at what we do..." Draco gestured between him and Neville, "and we have new and refreshing approaches, a young team that works well, and works _hard_."

Of course, ‘new approaches’ meant, winging it; a ‘young team that works well’ meant, interns that needed experience and were cheap; _and_ ‘works hard’ meant, they hadn't quit yet. But the Weasleys didn't need to know that.

"Why aren't you called Longbottom and Malfoy Marketing — or something to that effect, instead of just Marketing Malfoy's?" Fred Weasley asked, he didn't sound as judgemental as George, but curious. 

Neville sighed, and Draco chuckled slightly. They had long argued about this, and Neville had finally understood why Draco had been against joining their names together. "Because if this all fails, and I fall flat on my face, I'd like Neville to still be able to get a job. He has a family to support."

"Well, at least you're honest," Harry said, and Draco couldn't place the tone.

"Given it's been a while since a Malfoy has been called _that_ ," Draco said, chuckling, "I'll take that as a compliment, Mr Potter."

Draco watched as Harry bit his lower lip and shook his head. Draco immediately looked away as he didn't want anyone else to notice the moment between him and Harry. When he looked at Neville, he realised he'd failed.

After no one said anything for a few moments, Neville started to pack up. "Any more questions?" Draco asked the room. Fred and George got up simultaneously and walked up to the head of the room. They shook hands with both Neville and Draco, and George patted Draco on the shoulder as if everything was forgotten. 

"What other projects are you lot working on?" Fred asked, casually.

"Not much, just here and there," Draco replied evasively. They hadn't signed any big contracts yet, but the smaller ones also had confidentiality clauses both he and Neville had to be mindful of.

"We like to take our would-be associates out to dinner usually after a successful meeting," Fred said, and Draco internally sighed with relief; at least, they'd had a successful meeting. "Unfortunately, both Fred and I are on babysitting duty tonight, so would you two mind going out alone with Harry?"

"I'm sorry?" Draco asked, confused. 

"Harry is the CEO of the company, and it might do him some good to have a sit down with the two of you," George said, pointing at Draco and Neville. "Would you gentlemen be interested in a business dinner? Are you free tonight?"

Draco looked at Neville who nodded reluctantly and then busied himself with the packing again. He surely knew something was up between Draco and Harry, otherwise, he wouldn't have been so reluctant.

"Sounds great!" Draco said and tried to smile. "Where should Neville and I meet you, then?"

"We have your contact information, so I'll just message you later, after my PA, Zach has made a reservation," Harry said, and still, Draco couldn't place his tone.

"Brilliant," Draco said, and they all left the conference room.

When they were out in the parking lot and had placed all the presentation equipment in the truck of Neville's car, Neville finally rounded up on Draco. "Draco, what was that all about?"

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, pretending as if his heart hadn't been thumping so loudly, he was sure the entire neighbourhood had heard him.

"How do you know Harry?" Neville asked. No pretence, which was just like him, but _Harry_? Not, Mr Potter, or Potter, or the CEO of Potter Industries...

"How do _you_ know Harry?" Draco countered.

Neville shrugged. "I dated Ginny for a bit," he said. Draco had no idea what he was talking about. "Ginny Weasley? The twins' younger sister? Harry Potter's last girlfriend before he came out?"

"I met him at a party," Draco said, equally unperturbed. Draco tried to put all the pieces together in his head. Neville had dated a Weasley, who had dated Potter, who had slept with Draco. Fucking fantastic. He was part of some convoluted dating web, without even trying for it. Still, he had no idea how Harry had ended up at Daphne's party. 

"What party?"

"Saturday, at Daphne's," Draco said. Neville and Hannah were going to be there initially, but the baby had got sick and Hannah decided to stay home, and of course, being a good husband that he was, Neville had stayed in, too. 

"Did you have sex with him?" Neville asked, opened the driver's door of his car and getting in. 

Draco followed suit and entered the passenger side. "I didn't know who he was," he said.

"Draco..."

"Hey, the moment I found out, I told him it had to stop. It was just one night, okay? And maybe a bit yesterday, but I told him. That we were going to work for his company and there couldn't be any...personal conflicts of interest."

"What was his reply?" Neville asked, almost sounding like he already knew the answer to that question.

Draco shrugged, and waited until Neville had pulled out of the driveway and they were on the motorway, well on their way home. "He told me pleasure and business are not mutually exclusive...or something to that effect."

"Draco..."

"I told him no, okay? I really did. I told you, I'm in this business. I'm not my father, I'm not going to involve myself in a scandal..."

"Are you sure about this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you sure we can handle their business?" Neville said. "I mean, I don't want to get in too over our heads. Maybe they're too big for us and we should find someone or something smaller. If you really like Harry—"

"Neville, I'm not going to lose such a big contract over a shag. Seriously. He knows it and I know it. I told him that it wasn't a good idea. I know it isn't a good idea. Okay? I'm not going to fuck this up. I promise you that."

Neville seemed to be okay with it after that. He dropped Draco off back at the office, and headed home to check on the baby. He told Draco that he'd pick him up around six for the dinner with Harry. They still needed to know where the dinner was going to take place. 

At half past four, Draco received a text from a number he didn't know. Given that it was time and place for a restaurant, he figured it belonged to Harry.

 _Seven o'clock reservation at Maharaja of India, I hope you're okay with curry_.

Draco forwarded the message to Neville, who, Draco knew, loved curry so they would be all set. Now, he just waited for the night to be over, before it would even begin.


	3. Chapter 3

As they had decided, Neville picked Draco up from his flat at six o'clock and they drove toward the place Harry had messaged him about. Draco wasn't much for trying new things but he'd been to the curry place around the corner from Neville's place a few times so he knew what he was getting in for. Besides, Astoria had craved nothing but curry, or take out Chinese, when she'd been six months pregnant. And of course, Draco had been around to cater to all of her culinary needs.

"Are you nervous?" Neville asked as they found a parking spot near the restaurant. They were still fifteen minutes early, and Draco was glad for it. He wanted to get a drink at the bar before they'd sit down for dinner. 

"Why, are you?" Draco asked. 

Neville let out an exasperated sigh. "You know, your habit of asking me how _I'm_ feeling when I'm asking you about your thoughts is starting to get old. Just tell me how you feel, Draco. I'm not going to hold it against you." 

In other words, Neville wasn't his mother or Pansy. 

"I'm glad you're going to be there. Besides, I think this is just a formality. If this were a business dinner, the twins would have come too. I think it's just their way of feeling us out a bit and of course, given that the twins don't know about my history with Harry..." _Or lack thereof_. "...This really won't be that big of a deal. I'm just glad you'll be there and the man won't try to convince me we should continue our _other interests_ in secret. Business and pleasure, and all that." 

"Would you want to?" Neville asked, when they'd stopped at the light and he'd turned to look at Draco. "If this wasn't about making or breaking your career, our career, that is..."

Draco shrugged. He'd been doing that a lot since he'd partnered up with Neville. Neville was just a, _see it as it goes_ , kind of a bloke and Draco was starting to appreciate that about him. "No point in dwelling on something that isn't there," he said. 

Draco could tell Neville had something to say about his comment, but he'd obviously decided to stay quiet about it. He didn't push it, either. He didn't need another lecture, just like the one from his mother the night before, about how Draco should think about his life, more than outside just the firm.

-*-*-

When they arrived at the restaurant, Draco was moderately annoyed to see Harry was already there. He'd wanted to have a drink on his own before the night had continued, but of course, the faster they did this, the faster he and Neville could leave.

"The twins send their regards, and they're sorry they couldn't join us tonight. But trust me, we wouldn't be here if they had," Harry said when the three of them had taken their seats around a small round table. 

"Why? They don't like curry?" Draco asked.

"No. They're not that experimental, apparently," Harry replied, laughing. He gave Neville a knowing look and Neville just nodded. 

"How's Angelina?" Neville asked. 

"She's doing well," Harry replied. 

"Brilliant. Do send my regards to her, and Ginny, of course," Neville said before he started to look over the menu. Draco had no idea who these people were, as they'd never met them, so he simply stared at the pictures of the food on his menu. He knew he liked the okra one with the sautéed onions and the potato stuffed bread, and was probably going to order it.

Thankfully, the waiter stopped by quickly and they all ordered.

Midway through the meal, as the pleasantries were over with, Harry got down to business. "I'm not supposed to tell you this but I'm going to anyway," he said. "It's between you and this other firm that interviewed with us yesterday, but I think Fred and I are leaning towards Marking Malfoy's than...the other party." 

"What's George's problem?" Draco asked, without thinking about it twice. He needed to work on that. Honestly, for a PR rep, he had a habit of being a bit crass at times. 

"He doesn't have a problem, I think he just thinks we should go with more experience, whereas, Fred and I already have a relationship with Neville and we know your history so we're more confident in the new approach." 

A history with Neville? Draco didn't understand. He thought Neville had just dated the Weasley sister, but of course, there was more about his partner he needed to know. Draco and Hannah had studied at Uni together and that's how he'd met Neville, when Hannah had married him. Neville had a great work ethic and was loyal to the last bone in his body; of course, it seemed everyone around him seemed to know that. 

"I think you're giving me too much credit," Neville said, blushing. "I haven't seen you lot in a few years, not since I got married, but it's good to know I left a lasting impression." 

"Please, Ginny still says wonderful things about you and even Luna had been asking about you after she'd found out you guys were going to be coming into the office," Harry said, dismissing Neville's modesty. 

Draco hated how he was starting to feel jealous of Neville. Harry clearly thought so highly of him, evidently, everyone around did, but it was Harry's attention, his smile, his gaze only on Neville was actually driving Draco mad. 

_What is wrong with me_? He needed to get it together. 

Draco started to stuff his face again. Without a doubt, just having Neville around was good for business, maybe they _should_ have called the company Longbottom and Malfoy Marketing. People would have absolutely come banging on the door.

When they were almost at the end of the meal, Neville got a phone call. He excused himself from the table and went off to answer it. Draco was sure it was Hannah. Usually, Neville was the polite sort that let his phone vibrate, but he only answered if his wife were calling. Especially now when the baby was still a bit sick, Neville was more attentive towards it. 

"How is it working with Neville?" Harry asked when Draco looked away from Neville walking away and back at his empty plate of food. 

"Oh, it's good," Draco said casually. "He's become one of my closest friends and we work well together. He understands me, doesn't push me too much, or maybe sometimes he does but always for the right reasons." 

"Like that do you?" Harry said with a hint of teasing in his tone. "Being pushed?" 

Draco shook his head and looked into Harry's eyes. "You don't give up, do you?" 

Harry bit his lip then picked up his wine glass. He took a sip and Draco watched as Harry unknowingly licked his lips. "Not if I can help it." 

"Thank you for dinner. It's a very nice gesture of your company to—" 

"I would have asked you even if the twins hadn't offered it. I've wanted to see you again." 

"Can't we just call it what it was? Just a one-off? I was just letting off some steam before my big business interview. I don't...I'm not looking for..." He trailed off when Neville came rushing back to the table. 

"Is everything okay, Neville?" Harry asked before Draco had the chance to. Neville looked gravely distraught. 

"The fever's high again, and Hannah's going to take the baby to Urgent Care. I need to go and meet her. Draco—" 

"It's fine, Neville. Just go. I'll take a taxi home," Draco said, reassuring him, and Neville nodded, grabbed his coat and left. 

"And then there were two," Harry said as they both sat back down and the silence on the table was daunting. 

"Listen, Harry—" 

"It's not a marriage proposal, Draco," Harry said quickly. "It's an offer for sex. I'm sorry I've been pushing. I guess I'm just not used to being turned down." He laughed lightly, looking mostly as though he was laughing at himself than anything else. 

Before Draco could say anything else, Harry continued, "Maybe I misread..." He gestured between the two of them, "...this thing between us. Of course, I can maintain a professional relationship between us." 

"Right," Draco said, clearing his throat and took a big gulp of wine from his glass. 

It wasn't that Draco didn't want to. Of course, he did. And it wasn't even that Draco usually said no to people. His whole life, he'd been the one who was never given a choice. What school to attend, what clothes to wear, what friends to have, was all dictated for him and he'd always gone along with it. He would have said yes to Harry because he said yes to any proposal he'd get because Draco was just not used to saying no. He was barely ever given the chance to say no. The thing about it now was that, this was the first time, he didn't really _want_ to say no. So what did that mean? He wondered to himself and when he looked up, Harry was watching him intently. 

"You know..." Harry paused to take a deep sigh. "Can I be honest?" 

"Certainly," Draco replied. 

"This morning when you were giving your presentation, I couldn't take my eyes off you. All I could remember was how thick and heavy your cock felt in my mouth and how I wanted to do that to you again." 

Draco's eyes widened and he squirmed in his seat trying to remain impassive towards Harry's words. His reaction to what Harry had thought was received positively, by his cock, at least. 

"And that fucking suit you wore—" 

"You didn't look half bad yourself. I didn't realise you wore glasses." 

"Yeah, I usually wear contacts to a party and my hair has like, no hope, without gel." He mocked himself and Draco hated finding it endearing. 

"It looks good," Draco replied, looking into his empty wine glass. He was not supposed to be charmed by Harry, he was supposed to be strong! 

"Do you want to get more wine? Or go somewhere else for a drink?" Harry asked as he motioned for the waiter to approach them. 

"No," Draco said, and smiled. "I think it's best if I go home now." 

"Sure thing," Harry said, smiling. 

When the bill came, Harry gave the man his credit card without looking at the total and as they were about to leave, Draco saw the smile on the waiter's face. He reckoned Harry had probably made his night with a good tip. 

"I can give you a lift home," Harry said when they stood awkwardly outside the restaurant before the valet approached them and Harry gave him his key. 

"You don't have to—" 

"No, I want to. I know where you live, remember?" 

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." 

"Why?" Harry looked amused. "Afraid you won't be able to resist me, once we're in closed quarters again." 

Draco shook his head and looked around before answering. "Yes. I'm actually afraid of exactly that. You didn't misread the thing between us and you know..." 

"You're thinking about it," Harry said, casually as he winked. 

"After what you said you thought of me during the presentation, wouldn't _you_ be thinking about it?" 

"I didn't say it to change your mind. I said it because I thought you ought to know: your cock is worth daydreaming about." 

"You're ridiculous, Potter." 

"So this is going to be a thing then?" Harry asked, teasing. 

"What thing?" Draco asked, annoyed. 

"You'll call me Potter when you become uncomfortable with something..." The valet drove the car up to them and Harry went around to the driver's side. When they were settled in and Harry started to drive away, he said, "You know I've had an easier time convincing straight guys in getting a blow job." 

Draco gasped and then coughed with surprise. "You need to stop doing that." 

"Doing what?" 

"Catching me off guard!" Draco complained and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "You're lucky I wasn't drinking anything or it would have been all over your dashboard." 

Harry chuckled but didn't look in Draco's direction. Ten minutes later, they were parked outside Draco's flat. Draco tried not to show he was mildly impressed that Harry had remembered exactly where Draco lived. 

"So...I had a great time," Harry said, turning the car off, and facing Draco. 

"It wasn't a date," Draco said. 

"That would explain why I had such a good time. I'm awful at dates. I screw up, make bad jokes, and come on too strong." 

"In that case, I think it might have been a date," Draco said, smiling, and now he too was facing Harry. Why hadn't he just said his goodbyes and got out of the car already? 

"In that case, I'm sorry?" Harry scrunched up his face and Draco could only laugh. 

He didn't realise when but Harry's hands had left the steering wheel and he sneakily threaded his fingers with Draco's. By all means, still trying. Draco might have admired that. Maybe. 

"Is it sexual harassment if I want to kiss you goodnight?" Harry asked squeezing Draco's fingers. 

Draco squeezed back. "Only after we sign the official contract," he said. When Harry gave a soft smile, Draco leaned in, and Harry leaned in too.

The kiss was tentative, as if Harry was afraid--if he pushed, Draco would back off. Maybe Draco would have backed off, but he enjoyed kissing Harry. He'd enjoyed kissing him on Saturday night at Daph's party, on Sunday in his bed, and now, in Harry's car. 

Harry pressed his lips firmly against Draco's and he parted his lips slightly, inviting Draco's tongue in. Draco accepted the invitation without any hesitation. He knew he was being foolish, but he truly couldn't help himself. 

When they parted, Harry released his hands too, and Draco didn't care for that at all. What had started as a formality dinner, had quickly turned into a night Draco didn't want to end. 

"What else is up for grabs without an official contract?" Harry asked. 

Draco shrugged. "You want to come in?" 

"Are—are you sure?" Harry asked, sounding completely surprised. 

"It's not business," Draco managed to say, hoping he didn't sound desperate, even if he was acting a bit capricious. 

Harry smiled and pulled the key out of the ignition. "My three favourite words."

-*-*-


	4. Chapter 4

"Would you like a drink?" Draco offered when they entered his flat. For some odd reason, he was nervous. It was odd because it wasn't like Draco hadn't had Harry before, or that Harry hadn't been at his place before. He'd only been there yesterday, and this wasn't going to be anything but another one-off, except Draco didn't think that's what they were called anymore, then. If it happened more than once, and well, three times to be exact. So far. 

"Sure, a drink sounds great," Harry said, yanking Draco out of his thoughts and Draco made his way to the kitchen to fix something. 

When he returned, Harry was settled on the sofa, his tie was untied, his buttons slightly open as if he was getting into the mood of doing—whatever they were going to do. 

A blowjob, Draco figured. Since that's what all Harry had been hinting towards tonight. 

Draco handed the drink to Harry who didn't take his eyes off Draco. As he grabbed for the drink, their fingers brushed, and Harry smiled. "Come here," he said and pulled Draco on the sofa. Nearly on top of him. 

Harry placed the drink on the table next to him and started kissing Draco's neck. He sucked lightly and Draco moaned, arching into the touch, and nearly spilling his drink on the two of them. He quickly finished his drink off in one gulp and all but tossed the glass away. 

"God, you feel so good," Harry said, exploring Draco's body with his hands, untucking the shirt out of his trousers, and just grabbing any skin he could find. 

Before Draco knew it, he was sitting on the sofa, and Harry had slid onto the ground, situating himself in between Draco's legs. Draco started to unbuckle his belt, impatient, and wanting Harry's mouth on him again, when Harry took over the task. 

Slowly. Painfully slowly, Harry unbuttoned Draco's trousers and started to pull them down. He stroked Draco's cock above his pants, as he'd left them on and Draco hadn't said anything about it. It was Harry's show, and Draco was just there to enjoy the performance. 

Harry started kissing Draco's inner thigh and Draco let out a small whimper, before he worked his way up, sucking on the wet spot on the fabric of Draco's pants. Draco ran his fingers through Harry's hair, tugging slightly, hoping it would urge Harry to move faster. 

He was _dying_. 

"Please, Harry..." Draco growled lowly when Harry had finally hooked his fingers in the elastic of the pants but still wasn't pulling them down. 

"Bloody hell, you're gorgeous," Harry said as he finally, freed Draco's cock and licked the head. "I've been thinking about this all day. I want to make you come, Draco." 

"Then do it." 

Draco threw his head back and closed his eyes. He bit his lower lip, trying to control his groans, afraid he would just come right then and there. Harry didn't seem to pay him any mind, as he grabbed the base of Draco's shaft and stroked slightly, before really going to task. He moaned around Draco's erection as he sucked in and then licked around, and repeated the process over and over. He moved his hands over Draco's legs, squeezed lightly—perfectly in time with the movements of his head and his tongue. It was an art form, to be honest, and Draco was rendered speechless with it, save for the moans that kept escaping him, and then Harry only sucked harder. 

"Oh my—I'm gonna—" was all Draco said before he spilled himself down Harry's throat and Harry didn't flinch. Of course, it hadn't been the first time Harry had sucked him off but compared to the last two times, Draco didn't think Harry could surprise him even more. 

When he let go of Draco's limp cock from his mouth, Harry rested his head on Draco's thigh and Draco noticed his hand was moving fervently in attempts to get himself off. 

"Wait, let me see," Draco said and edged Harry to get up and pulled him closer. 

Harry's trousers were halfway down and his pink, hard cock was in his hand as Harry brushed the thumb over the head, and Draco shivered, as if he were feeling the sensation. "Let's take off your shirt," Draco said and he helped Harry remove the button-down and the undershirt. 

Then, Harry started again, sitting awkwardly in Draco's lap and pumping himself. Draco didn't care it hurt a bit, the way Harry was sat wasn't entirely comfortable but he just needed to feel the man right there. Watch his face in concentration—so close to his own orgasm. 

"Come for me," Draco found himself saying. He usually hated phrases like that, it didn't mean anything to him, but this time, it was different. He wanted to command Harry, tell him to do it. To do it for Draco. 

"Fuck!" Harry gasped, threw his head back, and closed his eyes. Then he spurted all over his hand and Draco's chest. If it wasn't one of the most erotic things Draco had ever seen. His limp cock stirred with interest again, and he felt another need inside him, something fierce he couldn't describe. 

Harry collapsed on top of Draco and Draco instinctively started stroking his back. Harry was panting; his hot breath on Draco's shoulder, soothing.

When they were calmed down, Harry moved off Draco and started to straighten himself. Draco removed his shirt to clean up his chest and Harry a bit. "Do you want to take a shower before you head off?" Draco asked and Harry shook his head. 

"It sounds good, but I should just be heading home," Harry said. 

Draco figured Harry was just giving him space, but still, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. To feel that body under him in the shower was now an image Draco couldn't shake off. 

"Very well," Draco said softly. 

"Maybe next time," Harry said, almost reading Draco's mind. 

Draco nodded reluctantly. Would there be a next time? Should there be one? He hated how confused he was being about this. This wasn't a good idea, he was sure of it, but at the same time, Draco had never met anyone like Harry before. No one had made him feel like it was too much, still never enough. 

They dressed in silence, for Draco, it was just the matter of putting on his trousers. His shirt was too ruined to be put back on. Draco walked Harry to the door and he waited for Harry to make the next move. It just seemed like the thing to do. Harry didn't wait long as he turned away from the door and kissed Draco. His mouth was hot and Draco tasted hints of himself on Harry's tongue, and he deepened the kiss, aching for more. 

After Harry left and Draco closed the door behind him, he felt an emptiness that hadn't been there before. Trying not to dwell on it too much, Draco cleaned up the sitting room and headed off to shower.


	5. Chapter 5

On Wednesday morning, Draco received an email from Neville who had been working from home. The baby was out of danger, and it turned out he'd caught a nasty ear infection and had to have an overnight stay in the Emergency Room. Now that he was back home, Neville and Hannah decided to stay in to make sure there were no more mishaps.

At the thought, Draco made a mental note to ring up Astoria to see how she was doing. Sure, Draco was having dinner with Pansy tonight, but Pansy never talked about anything but herself and if he were to ask after Astoria, she'd only dismiss his concerns, or make a big deal about them. 

_Draco, Z. Smith from Potter Industries has asked for us to email them our presentation from Monday. Do you think it's safe?_

Z. Smith? Draco tried long and hard to remember who that was. He brought up the Potter Industries website and went over the employee list. Harry Potter, CEO, was obviously listed at the top. Draco caught himself smiling at the name, and then scowled at getting distracted. After Harry had left on Monday evening, he hadn't called or messaged Draco. Not that Draco had done any of those things, either. He clicked on Harry's name and the website showed a picture of him and talked about his credentials. At the very bottom of the page, Draco found: _In order to get in touch with Harry Potter, please contact Mr Potter's PA: Zacharias Smith, at Z.Smith@PotterIndustries.co.uk_. 

"Zach," Draco said. _We have your contact information, so I'll just message you later, after my PA, Zach has made reservation_ s.

Draco remembered Harry's words. He'd talked about his PA, who had made reservations at the curry place for Monday night. Nevertheless, why would Potter Industries, or Potter and Friends, Inc. have wanted the presentation?

They all signed the privacy contract. No matter whether they took Marketing Malfoy's business or not, they were not allowed to discuss their business matters with anyone outside the agency. The PR privacy came first. If they passed around the presentation highlighting their advertising techniques, the company would get nowhere.

Draco replied to Neville.

 _You can email it to them, but just to be safe, also attach the copy of the privacy contract. We have their signatures on file in pdf. Even though we haven't signed the work contract, they are still under obligation to not share any of our marketing tools. Not sure what they'd want it for, but, we must be safe_.

After a quick back and forth interaction with Neville over email, Draco busied himself for the staff meeting with the interns, and then another one to discuss marketing strategy with his new Project Leader. If they had Potter and Friends, Inc. in the bag, then they could focus on a different account. They weren't going to run out of funds any time soon, but Draco wanted to set an example for his team about always moving forward.

-*-*-

The day went by in a blur, and it wasn't until four o'clock that Draco hadn't realised he'd missed lunch, and his phone call to Astoria. Now if he called her, Pansy would have been home, and that was a can of worms he wasn't ready to open yet.

He asked his Office Manager, Millicent, to fetch him a sandwich and a fizzy drink. She was a lifesaver as she tended to store extra sandwiches in her mini fridge. When she returned to his office with the heated panini, she also handed Draco his messages. Two were from his mother, one from Pansy, reminding him about the dinner, and last was from Harry. 

"Mr Potter just wanted me to let you know he'd called. No message, though."

Draco's heart skipped at the mention of Harry's name. He waited for Millicent to leave the room and close the door behind her before he adjusted his trousers. His heart wasn't the only thing that had had a reaction at the mention of his name. Draco picked up his mobile and went through his text messages. Harry's number wasn't stored in his mobile, but he did have a text saved from him from Monday about the dinner. 

Draco pressed the call button and dialled the number.

"This is Harry," the voice said on the other line.

"Hi, It's Draco...Malfoy," Draco said, suddenly nervous as if he were calling a girl and asking her to the dance. 

"Draco!" Harry sounded delighted. "Give me a second," he said and there was some shuffling noises and what sounded like a door being closed. "Glad you called me."

"My office manager told me you'd rang. What can I do for you?"

Harry laughed softly. "It was more like, I was thinking if there was something _I_ could do for _you_." Harry's voice was low and husky and Draco's cock stirred slightly. The memory of being on the sofa, with Harry in between his legs flashed in front of Draco. 

He coughed, almost trying to clear his throat. "I—"

"Are you free for dinner?" Harry asked.

"Tonight, I've got—"

"Right. The dinner with your sister," Harry said.

"Keeping tabs on me, Potter?"

"And if I said I was?" The teasing tone in Harry's voice was gone.

"What did you have in mind?" Draco asked, trying not to read too much into it.

"How late is your dinner going to run?"

"Depends on how much of a bitch my sister can be," Draco said and then Harry laughed again. Draco laughed with him, though he was actually being serious.

"Message me when you think you're about done. I'll come by and pick you up."

"You don't know where I'll be."

"Yeah, and I've got a fast ride. It won't matter. I can be there in record time," Harry said. Draco was about to say something else when Harry spoke again. "I'm really sorry but I've got to run to a meeting and I'm already five minutes late. My solicitor is glaring daggers at me through the window. Why don't we pick this up later?"

"Yeah, sure," Draco said, struggling to not sound thoroughly disappointed. He felt like he was getting brushed off, even though, this wasn't his idea. He didn't want to see Harry. Well he did, but he'd not wanted to see him in the first place and he would have been alright if they'd never continued but now—he was just annoyed that he seemed liked the one that was—

 _What do I even want_? Draco stopped his train of thought to answer the question, however he didn't get a chance because his mobile beeped at the same time. It was a message from Harry.

 _Sorry had to run off. If I'd stayed on the phone any longer, people would have noticed and since we're trying to keep this quiet, I had to act like it was a business deal. But you know, it is not business at all_. 

Draco read the message and laughed at the wink face Harry had attached in the next message. No one in the past had ever managed to make Draco doubt himself so much. There was just something about Harry he couldn't figure out. It wasn't the confident persona, or the sex appeal — and there _was_ sex appeal there — maybe because Harry just always seemed like two different people. There was the work Harry of Potter Industries that was famous, and confident, and put together; and then there was the Harry Draco had seen the first night, when he wasn't Potter. The Harry from the drunken kisses, and fumbling clothes, and morning blow jobs. He far preferred the Harry from his bed more than Harry Potter, public figure. 

His office phone rang and Draco saw it was Neville calling; all thoughts being left aside, Draco returned to work.

-*-*-

Much to Draco's surprise, Pansy was already waiting at the bar when he arrived at the Three Horse Tavern. He'd had Millicent make the reservations and had showed up ten minutes early. He was hoping for some clear mental space before dealing with his former best friend who was now his step-sister. Ever since their parents had married, Pansy had only pulled away from Draco. Maybe it was a sort of betrayal she'd seen from her dad's side, as if marrying Draco's mum was pretending Pansy's mother's memory was tarnished. Of course, Draco had not felt this way. He'd thought everything would have been better, but after Pansy had latched herself onto her work and then Astoria, she'd constantly pulled away. The only time she’d be on Narcissa's side was when they were both ganged up against _him_.

"To what do I owe the honour?" Draco teased after they were sat at their table and the waiter had taken their drink orders. 

"Must you always go with the theatrics?" Pansy snapped. 

"Sorry. Didn't realise this was serious," Draco said, straightening up. "Everything okay, Pans?"

The waiter brought their bottle of wine, and they both ordered the same meal as they always did at Three Horse. Roast beef and potatoes for Draco, and grilled salmon for Pansy. 

"Astoria has left me," Pansy said after finishing her first glass of wine in one go.

 _Talk about theatrics_. 

Draco only took one sip of wine then. This was going to be one of those kinds of nights and he knew he'd end up driving her car to her place before phoning a taxi home. For a brief moment, he thought about Harry. Harry had offered to pick him up from the restaurant, but Draco dismissed the entire ordeal. This was not the time to think about his own pleasure.

"What happened?" Draco asked, diverting his attention back to Pansy.

"She saw a few messages on my mobile and well they weren't exactly—appropriate."

"Appropriate?" Draco said, raising an eyebrow. Had Pansy's extra-marital affairs finally caught on with her? For a brief second, Draco was proud of Astoria. It was one thing to suspect your wife, but the fact if Astoria had actually got proof now, and she'd left, that was really commending. Honestly, Draco didn't think she had it in her.

"What are you going to do?" he asked when Pansy didn't respond.

Pansy shrugged and started to butter the bread placed in the middle of their table. She was clearly avoiding.

"It was a man, wasn't it?" Draco asked, even though he knew by Pansy's reactions he didn't need to. Pansy, just like Draco, was bisexual. Except, a long time ago, Draco had turned away from the side where he'd dated women. They just didn't do anything for them—not like men, at least. Nothing like Harry. And when Pansy had married Astoria, he'd assumed she had too.

"It's not the point," Pansy said, annoyed. She filled her glass of wine again and started to drink from it. "Astoria has moved to Spain."

"Spain?" Draco was genuinely shocked at that. He knew the Greengrass family had an estate in Barcelona and Astoria had always talked about spending summers there, but she'd just upped and left?

"Now it's just the matter of the custody—"

Their food arrived then and Pansy gave the waiter an annoyed look, as if everything was that man's fault. They waited quietly until the waiters set up their table, placed everything neatly, asked after them, and left.

"Astoria is the biological parent," Draco said as he strained to stay calm. He couldn't believe Pansy wanted custody. Pansy had only wanted the kid in the first place so she could seem more human when she was interviewed by the _Art Weekly_ as the youngest Art Curator in the history of British Museum. It made her seemed like a down-to-earth settled woman who had it all: a successful career and a family. 

"Mother agrees with me," Pansy said. Draco huffed out a small laugh at the words and Pansy glowered at him. "It is her grandchild."

"If Mother wishes to see him, then she'll have to make arrangements with Astoria. If Astoria has _left_ the UK, there's even little you can do. She's his sole guardian. Unless you hire a solicitor and are willing to spend the money—"

"This is why I've asked you to help," Pansy said and Draco cringed. "I mean you are—"

"I'm not Scorpius's father, Pansy. Not legally, and not emotionally. I've met the boy only a handful of times, when he was born, on the day he was baptized, and then his last birthday. I can't maintain any sort of hold in the matter."

"You can always say you wish to be involved in his life. Force her to keep Scorpius in London."

"He's not a pet!" Draco said, annoyed. Years ago when Pansy had asked Draco for the favour, he'd turned her down immediately. But it was his mother who had convinced him. The child, Scorpius, biologically belonged to Draco and Astoria, and even though Draco wasn't against the idea of having a son someday, at the age of twenty-six, he hadn't been ready.

He didn't have a problem with being Uncle Draco. The one who swifted in and out with presents and let the boy have a normal life. Now, he couldn't imagine himself being in the middle of this faux-custody battle, especially when he knew Astoria was the better parent and Scorpius was in safe hands. 

"I'm not asking for much," Pansy said when they'd been quiet for too long and Draco was simply picking on his food. "Just think about it, please? It would mean the world to me and Narcissa doesn't think flying to Barcelona all the time is going to be good for her."

Draco resisted rolling his eyes. He wanted to say there was always Skype, but he didn't want Pansy to throw wine on his face. "What do you want from me? Submit a legal order?"

"No, of course not," she said as if Draco was talking crazy. "Just email her and ask her to think over my request. To give full parental custody to me."

"Fine," Draco said; he just nodded and said he'd think it over, which he knew he wouldn't. All he wanted to do now was to go home and email Astoria congratulating her on finally ridding herself of the crazy. 

Of course, Astoria had loved Pansy and maybe she still did, so he wouldn't do that. He'd email her, though. Even if he weren’t sure what he'd say exactly.

"Thanks, Draco! I knew I could always count on you."

They finished off their meals and just as Draco had predicted, Pansy finished off the wine. Draco wasn't feeling up to anything anymore so he said no to dessert and took Pansy's car keys to drive her home. 

"You are the best, Draco," she said when he dropped her off at her flat and parked her car in the garage. He was going to leave the keys under the front seat where she would eventually find them. The garage had surveillance and security, so he wasn't worried about theft, not that Pansy would have cared. She would have found that as an excuse to buy something new.

-*-*-

It wasn't too late out, so Draco decided to walk a few blocks before he'd find a taxi station and go home. He felt winded. Scorpius was a great little boy, but he wasn't Draco's. He hated that even though he had signed off the legal paperwork ridding himself of all parental obligations, he felt like he wasn't being honest. Scorpius needed a father. Didn't he? It was different before when he had Astoria _and_ Pansy but now Pansy was out of the picture, he couldn't help but wonder if he should offer his help to Astoria.

Pansy would never agree for joint custody. She would have dragged the matter in the courts for as long as it was possible. Draco didn't want to put Scorpius through that. He didn't want to put any of them through that. There was no way his mother would agree with Pansy. If she were worried about not seeing her grandchild enough, Draco would fly her out to Barcelona every other week if she wanted. 

When he realised he'd finally walked enough, Draco looked up and noticed he was standing near the Royale Hotel. If he walked in, he could get the concierge to call him a cab. As soon as he was about to cross the street, his phone rang. 

"Hello?" Draco said absentmindedly; he hadn't recognised the number.

"You sound like you're a million miles away." _Harry_.

"Right, sorry. I got caught up with—"

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, of course. Just had to drop my sister off at her place and I was walking back to get a taxi."

"And you forgot my offer?" Harry asked, sounding slightly disappointed, Draco thought. Maybe he was reading too much into it.

Draco laughed awkwardly into the phone. "No. I just got some interesting news and wasn't entirely in a celebratory mood," Draco said honestly. Given that they were just doing this for fun and no matter how much Draco enjoyed being with Harry, he also had to be truthful. He wouldn't be able to enjoy himself _with_ Harry if he was still thinking about everything else that revolved around his family. "I didn't want to waste your time—"

"Did you know apart from giving fantastic blow jobs, I'm also a good listener." Harry paused for a few moments before continuing, "I might know just the thing to take your mind off your worries. I mean, if that's what you want. I don't mean to push..." He paused again.

It was obvious that Harry was trying to be a friend, and if Draco were honest with himself, he could use a friend. "What did you have in mind?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has a surprise for Draco

Draco waited at the bar at the Royale Hotel for only ten minutes when he received a text message from Harry stating he was outside. He quickly finished his gin in one go, paid the bartender, and left. 

When he arrived outside, he didn't see Harry's car anywhere. Confused, Draco looked at his phone again. Had he misunderstood? There was a rumble of a motorbike to his left and Draco's gaze drifted there. The man on the bike waved at Draco. 

Draco shook his head. "Are you seri—" Then the bike rumbled again. He couldn't believe it. Fantastic blowjobs and rides a motorcycle. 

Draco stood there partially from shock, and partially just laughing when Harry rode up in front of him, stopped his bike, and removed the visor of his helmet. "Hi," he said.

"Hello," Draco said, sceptic. Was Harry expecting him to ride behind him?

"I brought you a helmet. Don't worry it's not girly," Harry said, reassuring, and handed Draco a dark green helmet with a dragon design on it. 

"A bit cliché, no?" Draco said joking and attempted to put it on his head. 

Harry turned the bike off and parked it before took off his helmet, turned towards Draco, and helped him. "It's only cliché if you use it trying to pull," Harry said, biting his lower lip. 

"And you're not trying to pull tonight?" Draco teased. 

Harry mocked confusion. "I thought you needed a friend tonight?" 

Draco threw his head back and laughed. "You take all your friends on bike rides?" 

"Only the ones I try to pull," Harry quipped back. "Now hop on and hold onto me." 

Draco did as he was told. It took him a moment to settle behind Harry and Harry insisted on Draco wrapping his arms around his waist. "Tight!" Harry said and Draco obliged. He inadvertently took in a whiff of Harry's cologne and smiled. It was a reminder. A reminder of their first night and the night that followed. 

Draco knew he didn't need to hold Harry so close, really, but he liked the idea that Harry liked feeling him. Having Harry like that in his arms wasn't all bad, after all. Already, his presence had helped Draco nearly forget his present troubles. 

Harry didn't hold back any punches as he drove off and away from the Royale Hotel. Draco instinctively grabbed the front of Harry's jacket as they picked up speed. He wasn't sure but Draco thought he heard Harry chuckle—feeling his body vibrate under Draco. Harry was a skilled rider, not that Draco had any sort of experience being on a motorbike. He like the easy way Harry manoeuvred in and out of traffic in between cars and buses and no one seemed to stop them.

This was a different side of Harry Draco was learning and he liked it. 

"All right there?" Harry turned his head and asked, his voice muffled through the helmet and Draco nodded. "Want to go to any particular place?" he asked and Draco shook his head. 

"Anywhere," Draco said and when the light turned green, Harry took off again.

-*-*-

Draco had no idea how long they'd gone riding for but eventually, he was starting to recognise the streets and the houses. He had no idea how, given he had no idea where they were.

Eventually, Harry slowed down and then they drove down a small alleyway, and it looked like Harry was heading towards a house. There was an open garage door and Harry pulled in. Finally, when the bike was turned off, and Harry had removed his helmet, he turned to face Draco again. 

"Welcome to Islington," he said. 

"I knew it all looked familiar," Draco said and waited for Harry to hop off the bike first. When Harry did, he helped Draco remove his helmet. 

"Liked the ride?" Harry asked, looking smug. 

"It was brilliant. You were right, you know. It did take my mind off—" 

Harry leaned in and kissed Draco then. Draco was still on the bike and he felt as though his knees wobbled still and the bike shook with him. Harry only pressed against him and Draco wound up wrapping his arms around Harry again, feeling his warmth . 

When the broke apart, Harry was grinning, and Draco caught his reflection on one of the side mirrors of the bike. His hair was ridiculous—all over the place and staticy. 

"What the—" 

"You just looked too darn cute for me to not kiss," Harry said. Draco shook his head at Harry's comment and started to fix his hair. "It looks fine." 

"Just because _you_ can pull off that look of messy hair doesn't mean we all have the luxury," Draco said and got up off the bike. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco to steady him, even though, Draco didn't need the help. He leaned into him, still. There was just something about the warmth of Harry's body, the feel of his strong arms that Draco liked too much. 

"Thanks," Draco whispered as he brushed his lips against Harry's. 

"For what?" Harry asked, doing the same.

Harry led Draco to the house in the dark. He seemed to know where he was going so Draco didn't mind. Still, the familiarity of where he was—was too strong to ignore. Why did he think that he'd been there before?

"Do you want a drink?" Harry asked as they entered the house and Harry closed the door behind them first before he switched the lights on. 

"Sure," Draco said, taking in the surroundings. 

"Wine, okay?" 

"Yeah." 

The colours of the walls had been changed but everything else seemed to be as Draco had remembered. Including the family portraits. He thought there was a slight moment that he'd been dreaming. He took a few steps to the right and twisted the knob of a closed door. 

"Oh, you found the bathroom," Harry said from behind him, and Draco _knew_ before he'd even opened the door that's what the room was. 

"You inherited this place from your godfather, you'd said?" Draco said turning towards Harry and Harry looked confused by whatever Draco's expression was. Draco was sure he had a wild look in his eyes. 

"Yeah," Harry said sceptically. 

"This house belongs to the Black family," Draco said, as he walked down the hallway and found another set of pictures on the mantle. One of them was undeniably his mother as a child with her two sisters. 

"How—how did you know that?" 

"What's your godfather's name?" Draco asked. 

"Sirius. Sirius Black." 

"Right," Draco said, now understanding the best he could. "He died about a dozen years ago in a motorcycle accident. I thought everything was too familiar." 

"What do you mean?" Harry walked up to him and handed him a glass of wine. He joined Draco as they looked at the family portraits together. Draco found one of what was surely Harry with what he assumed was Sirius. 

"The fireplace used to be there," Draco said pointing at a corner where a large flat screen TV had been placed. 

"Yeah," Harry said, sounding completely freaked out. "I had to make some modifications to the place a few years ago when we had that really bad blizzard. I didn't want to put it all back together in exactly the same way and I know Sirius used to hate the fireplace so... Draco, you're real—" 

Draco laughed and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I haven't been to this house in almost twenty years," he said, squeezing Harry's shoulder and taking a sip of the wine. "My mother is Narcissa Black, well she was before she became Narcissa Malfoy, and now, Narcissa Malfoy-Parkinson. She was related—I'm related to Sirius, the whole Black family. It's _weird_ to be here and I didn't think my night could get any more strange." 

"When I came to live here with Sirius, I thought he was the only one of the Black descendants that was alive. Well, that and Aunt Andy, but she passed away last year, losing her battle to cancer." 

"The last time I'd seen Aunt Andromeda was when she'd come to my mother's wedding with Dale. And she'd missed the funeral because..." Draco took in a deep breath and then shook his head. It's been Pansy's fault why his mother had missed the funeral and it _was_ the most ridiculous reason ever. 

"Don't you think that's strange?" Harry asked, sipping his wine and he returned back to the sitting room as Draco followed. 

"What's strange?" Draco asked, taking a seat on the sofa, next to Harry. 

"Just how connected we are," Harry said, grabbed Draco's wrist and pulling it to his mouth. He kissed it lightly and started to move up Draco's arm, kissing every bit of skin he could find. 

Draco bit his lip as he tried not to laugh. 

"What?" Harry asked, reading his face. 

"It's a coincidence, Potter," Draco said, chuckling lightly. 

"It's decidedly the strangest thing I've ever experienced. I've never had mind-blowing sex with anyone that was so _close_ to me. My family. I mean, I know Sirius was my godfather, but he was like my Dad. My parents died when I was just a baby and Sirius had always been there for me." 

"We haven't had that much sex," Draco tried to argue but he couldn't ignore what Harry was doing as his hand went up Draco's thigh and he couldn't ignore Harry's words of _mind-blowing_ sex. 

"We can always change that," Harry said, pushing Draco back into the sofa as he settled himself in his lap. He started to sway his hips lightly, making Draco aware of every nerve inside him, aroused with need. _Need for Harry_. 

"What do you suggest?" Draco said, unbuttoning Harry's shirt and then pulling him in for a kiss. 

Harry moaned around Draco's tongue and his hand started to stroke Draco from above his trousers. "Come to the bedroom with me, and I'll give you another ride." This time, Draco didn't hold his laugh back and Harry joined him, realising just how incredibly clichéd he sounded. "Sorry, I just—I can't think straight when you're around," Harry admitted.

"There's no need to think," Draco said, as he urged Harry to stand up and then took his time undressing Harry. As he removed each piece of clothing, he kissed Harry's skin; deeper each time. "There's a rule in marketing that works wonders sometimes," he added, pulling Harry's trousers and pants down. 

"What's that?" Harry said stepping out of his trousers and pulling Draco up for another kiss. 

"Less is more." Draco said right before kissing him, biting his lower lip, and then sucking on it.

-*-*-

They held hands as they went up the stairs to Harry's bedroom. Draco felt like a blushing virgin being led into unknown territory, being guided by someone who said all the right things. Even if Harry hadn't, Draco didn't know how long he would have been able to resist.

Harry spread naked on the bed as Draco watched him. Draco was still almost fully dressed as Harry's clothes lay on the floor of the sitting room. It was the man's house and he lived in the mansion alone so Draco didn't feel too bad about leaving a mess. He purposely undressed himself slowly, painfully slowly, and Harry was almost writhing on the bed, moaning with need. Need for Draco. It was unbelievable. Draco hadn't met anyone who made him feel so desired. 

When Draco reached the bed and knelt down in it, Harry pulled him towards the middle immediately. He turned sideways for a brief moment as he grabbed for lube and condoms and Draco enjoyed the view of Harry's arse, knowing that he'd get to do more than just gaze at it. When Harry caught him, realising what Draco was doing, he turned some more, as if he was offering himself to Draco. 

Draco turned Harry's body around, pressing his chest and stomach to the mattress so he could _finally_ get a good look. The few nights that they had been together, it'd not been like this. The first night they weren't all that sober, and then the following morning, Draco's fear of who Harry was and how far they could take it made him hesitate. Now Draco knew that he didn't want to resist, didn't want to stop himself. He wanted Harry. 

He spread Harry's legs apart and settled himself in-between them. His face mere centimetres away from Harry's hole. He bit his lower lip before he gave a tentative lick. Harry groaned beneath him. So Draco did it again. He liked the reactions elicited from Harry so he continued pushing. Shoving his tongue deep in Harry, making him squirm and twist about on the bed as he humped the mattress, made Draco laugh. Meanwhile, every other word from Harry had been either a "Yes," or a "Don't stop." 

Finally, when it sounded as though Harry was on the brink of an orgasm, Draco pulled back. He settled on his knees and pulled Harry towards him. Getting up on his knees, Harry grabbed for the condoms and lube, and handed them to Draco. 

"I don't know how long I can manage without you inside me, Draco," Harry breathed out, and turned his face to the side to they could kiss again. 

"You're fucking amazing," Draco said as he put on the condom and opened the bottle of lube. He slicked two fingers before he pressed them against Harry's entrance and Harry hung his head down and moaned again. 

"More," Harry said and Draco pushed the fingers in. 

He wanted to make sure this would be good for Harry as he was certain that it'd be brilliant for him. Eventually, he lined the head of his cock against Harry's hole and pushed in. "So fucking tight," Draco mumbled, pushing in and out of Harry with his grip tight on Harry's hips and his chest pressed flat against Harry's back. "So... _Good_." 

"I'm so close," Harry said, dropping his head back and resting it on Draco's shoulder. He was pumping his cock with his hand, matching with the rhythm of Draco's thrusts. 

Draco picked up the pace, determined that he wanted to come with Harry, mix their moans together was they were both pushed over the edge. He rested his head on the back of Harry's neck and arched his back. Watching himself, fuck Harry, pulling in and out of Harry's hole was enough. He came right then and there, spilling himself inside as Harry cried out his orgasm and came all over his hand. 

"Fuck. That was..." Draco panted as Harry reached for a box of tissues to clean himself up. 

"God, I'm going to need a shower," Harry said as Draco pulled out of him slowly, and Harry collapsed on the bed. 

Draco grabbed a few of the tissues to wrap the condom and chucked it into the rubbish bin under the bedside table. A shower sounded good.

"Do you want to join me?" Harry asked when Draco crashed on the bed too and rubbed his face. He was exhausted. 

"I can't," Draco said, hoping he didn't sound distant. "I should be heading home—" 

"You could spend the night," Harry said, turning to his side and running a hand against Draco's chest. "God, you're fucking hot." 

Draco laughed. "Thanks. But, I don't think I should—" 

"Of course," Harry said, but he didn't remove his touch; not right away for it to be awkward. 

It was evident that having a casual fling wasn't foreign to Harry and he knew how to handle these situations. Except, Draco found himself wishing that Harry had maybe pushed him just a bit more. Then maybe he would have stayed the night. 

He closed his eyes just for a moment and when he opened them, Draco noticed there was a blanket on top of him, and Harry was just coming out of the shower with a towel around his waist. His clothes were folded and placed on the floor by his side of the bed. He hadn't intended on taking a nap. 

"I'll just get out of your hair then," Draco said, standing up and making a grab for his pants. 

"There's no rush," Harry said and he came and sat beside Draco. "I'll call you a taxi when you're ready." 

"Thanks," Draco said and dressed in silence as Harry watched him. 

They walked down the stairs to the sitting room where the glasses of wines were still on the table, and Harry's clothes were scattered about. 

"Do you need help cleaning up?" Draco asked and Harry shook his head. 

It looked like Harry was going to say something when there was a honking sound coming from the front door of the house. They'd come from the other side earlier that night when Harry had brought him through the garage so the noise startled Draco. 

"Looks like your lift is here," Harry said and Draco nodded. In lieu of things becoming awkward, Draco walked up to Harry, grabbed him by the back of his neck, and kissed him. 

"Thanks for everything tonight," he said when they pulled apart. Still, he felt Harry's warm breath on him and he wasn't ready to let go yet. 

Harry grinned and nodded. "We still didn't talk about whatever was troubling you—" 

"Trust me, this was loads better than that," Draco said.

"But I was being serious," Harry said, his face grim. "If you need a friend..." 

Draco smiled and quickly kissed Harry again. "I will call you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco hears from Astoria.

A few days later, Draco finally managed to send an email to Astoria. It wasn't very long and it didn't talk about Pansy, or his mother. 

_Astoria,_

_I'm sure you won't be surprised by knowing that I know you've moved to Barcelona with Scorpius. It really is beautiful there this time of the year. I remember my trip back in Uni, and I've longed to return. Of course, work keeps me busy here, but I do hope to go back some day._

_I can understand if, at the moment, you do not wish to interact with me, but I just wanted to offer you my support. If there's anything you ever need, for yourself or for Scorpius, please do not hesitate to ask._

_It's not my place to step in, or pass any sort of judgement. I just want you to know, again, if you need me to be there for Scorpius, I will be. However, if you want me to step away completely, that is also your wish and I will respect it._

_Yours truly,_  
_Draco Malfoy_.

He had no idea if Astoria would ever read it, or if she'd reply. Still, he knew that he needed to say his piece and make peace with that. If Pansy were to ask again, which he knew she would, Draco would simply deny helping her. He wasn't Scorpius's real father and there wasn't any sort of lawsuit that Pansy could claim on Draco to coerce into helping her.

Astoria was a kind woman, and surprisingly after being with Pansy for all these years, the goodness in her had remained. He could only hope that it would also shine through Scorpius. 

" _Got a sec_?"

Draco looked up from his laptop and found Neville waiting for him by the door. "Of course," he said and Neville came in. He sat across from Draco and was quiet for a few seconds. "What is it?"

"You look different," Neville said, giving Draco's desk a once-over.

Draco laughed. "How?"

Neville shrugged. "I don't know. Just look relieved or something...Is that a weird thing to say?"

"I was putting off sending this email to Astoria and I finally just did it. Maybe that's what you picked up on," Draco said, hoping that would have been sufficed. Not sure if having casual sex was the real reason Draco was looking _relieved_.

"Maybe," Neville said, checking his mobile for a second. "When you have a tiny human at home who doesn't speak yet, you sort of pick up on vibes and things..."

"Indeed," Draco agreed, his thoughts reverting to Scorpius and Astoria again. 

"How're things with Harry?"

 _And there it was_...

Now, it was Draco's turn to shrug. "Casual."

"Good. You could use a bit of non-theatrics in your life," Neville said laughing, and Draco knew that he was obviously referring to Pansy. Of course, a long time ago, Pansy had offered a three-way with her to Hannah and Neville, and that'd been _full_ of theatrics. 

"Do you want to talk about our trip to Paris next week?" Draco asked changing the subject. He figured that was the reason Neville had stopped by, anyway. They were going to present in front of a luxury goods company, Style.

Their last PR firm had been bought over by a bigger company but due to an insider trading scandal, Draco'd heard through the grapevine that Style was looking for a new firm to go with. It'd been a _long_ while since his father had done any dealings in France so Draco was determined to have a fresh start there. He and Neville were scheduled to fly out to Paris in a few days and Hannah was going to handle the business end of things in London for them.

"Yeah, I've got Sheila working on the final touch for the presentation before she emails it to us. I'd told her that if she did a better job than our last intern, I'd bring her some Style samples back." Neville laughed and Draco shook his head. Neville always found incentives to make the interns work harder, and this time it was no different.

"You know, if her presentation blows people's minds through the roof, I might just promote her to Assistant Project Manager," Draco said.

"Ah, now _that's_ a better incentive. I'm sure a designer dress and perfume for Sheila's girlfriend can only take her so far."

"Maybe we should take her with us," Draco said, and Neville stopped laughing. "What? I'm serious!" 

"You are!" Neville said, looking surprised. "You're willing to trust someone else..."

"Hey, I'm leaving Hannah in charge, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but me and Hannah don't count. She's been there with you from the start and she trusts me, so you trust me—"

"That's not true, Neville," Draco said, closing his laptop to give Neville his undivided attention. "We have this company together, don't we?"

"And now you want to bring someone else in..."

"I think it'd be a good example to her peers, and the rest of the team. If you work hard, we notice, and all that."

Neville smiled, but didn't say anything right away. Draco rolled his eyes and waited.

"If someone had told me three months ago that you'd actually start distributing responsibilities and won't try to do all of it by yourself, I wouldn't have believed them. It's just...it's good to see you relaxing. I'm glad you're moving past the..." He paused as if searching for the right word.

"My trust issues?" Draco teased. "I know, but I have to realise that I'm not my father. I just need to concentrate on the work and not who might potentially backstab me or something. Didn't Hannah say that you wouldn't get anywhere if you just kept looking back?"

"Yeah, she's a good person to listen to," Neville said. "Which reminds me, are you sure that your mother will be okay with Frank—"

"Yes!" Draco said, assuring Neville. "Trust me, watching after your kid is the thing she needs, especially since Astoria's moved to Barcelona. It'll take her mind off missing Scorpius and by the time we get back here, I'll take her there on a holiday myself. Everybody wins."

"Except Pansy," Neville said.

"Well, Pansy made her bed. Now she's the one that has to lie in it," Draco said.

Even if Astoria wouldn't immediately reply to Draco's emails, he was sure that she'd never deny Narcissa the right to see her grandchild. After their trip, if Narcissa really wished to go and visit Scorpius, Draco would make it happen. He also knew that his mother would require a break after attending to baby Frank for a few days and that would give Draco the time to figure everything out.

"Okay," Neville said standing up. "I'll go and give Sheila the good news."

"Be sure to tell her that the offer only stands if I'm impressed by the presentation," Draco said and Neville nodded before closing the office door behind him. A few seconds later, Draco's mobile buzzed and he looked down. It was a message from Harry.

_Things are ridiculously crazy today and I realised that it's only been four days since I had you inside me. Want to meet me at my place?_

Draco smiled down at the message and it always surprised him at how easy Harry made it all seem. _...it's only been four days since I had you inside me._ He read the words over again and shifted uncomfortably. He could _imagine_ Harry saying that, being on his knees and begging for it from Draco. 

God, Draco needed to get it together. He was so sure that if Harry'd called him right then, he'd probably drop everything and show up at the man's place and fuck him against the wall. This time, he'd accept the offer for a shower, and drag Harry into the shower with him. 

The memory of Harry's mouth on his sent shivers up Draco's spine. 

He thought about waiting to write back, but then he also realised that he was going on a trip in a few days and probably wouldn't get the opportunity with Harry for a while, then. There was no point in playing games. Harry wanted Draco, and he made it easy for him. Being with Harry was easy and maybe this was just what they both needed.

-*-*-

As he was about to call it a night at the office and head over to Harry's place, Draco received an email reply from Astoria.

_Dear Draco,_

_Thank you for your email today and I have to say that I'm surprised by it. Still, it brought a smile to my face to see that you are, as always, so kind-hearted towards Scorpius and I. He's been asking about you for a few days now and I think that maybe, it would be a good idea for us to have you in our lives._

_He's too young now, but I know that he's going to ask about his father, and I really don't know what I would say to him. Pansy and I never really discussed it because she'd wanted to keep you out of it. I understand that as Scorpius grows up, he's only going to be more and more curious about the world around him. I think he gets that from you and your mother._

_I'm sorry that I left London in such a rush, but after everything, it was just something I had to do. I don't mean to block you or Narcissa from seeing him, if you wish to do so. I think it'll be good for Scorpius to keep in touch with his uncle and grandmother. Even Pansy, when she won't be chasing after him just for custody and then hand him off to nannies._

_I'm sorry, I don't mean to speak ill of her. It's just been a tough few weeks._

_The offer to help is extended in both directions. Please get in touch with me if you need anything._

_Always,_  
_Astoria_.

With a great big smile on his face, Draco shut off his laptop and called for a taxi.

-*-*-

As the cab dropped Draco off in front of Harry's house, he heard the rumble of a motorcycle. Instead of knocking on the front door, Draco made his way around the back and saw Harry just getting off the bike, dressed in tight jeans, leather boots, and a vintage looking leather jacket that seemed just one size too big for him.

Seeing Draco so unexpectedly, gave him a start. "Hi," Harry said, and looked around. "How did you get here?"

"I took a taxi but I heard..." Draco pointed at the bike, "and figured I'd come around back."

"Brilliant," Harry said and placed his helmet on top of the motorcycle. "Just had to get a ride in after the day I've had. It helps me clear my mind."

"Don't get me wrong..." Draco said cautiously. He wasn't sure if he'd remembered the details correctly so he wanted to be positive. 

"Yeah?" Harry asked, drawling.

"Sirius died of a motorcycle accident, didn't he?" Draco asked, placing his hands in his pockets. He did that when he was nervous. It really _wasn't_ his place to ask and according to Harry, they were close like father and son, and he didn't want to cross him.

Harry chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I get that a lot," he said, and Draco picked up on the hint of annoyance. He started to walk towards the back entrance of the house and Draco followed him. 

"It wasn't his first accident, but this one had been the worst, of course. I mean it killed him. Still, every time Sirius had fallen down, he'd get up and ride again. The accident that killed him wasn't his fault. He was hit by a drunk driver." Harry shook his head and gave a one-shoulder shrug. "I'm careful." He opened the door and let Draco in. As Draco passed, Harry placed a hand on the small of Draco's back. When they were in the house, Draco leaned into the touch.

"No risk. No reward," Draco said and Harry tightened the grip around Draco's waist.

"Exactly," Harry said, and kissed Draco. "Now, I don't know about you, but I could use a shower. And then maybe I can try to scrounge up something to eat for us?" Harry breathed the words and Draco could tell that he was trying to go for nonchalance but he was just as turned on as Draco. 

Draco had Harry pinned in-between himself and the archway to the stairs that led them upstairs to Harry's bedroom. "I know that I will require sustenance after I'm done with you in the shower," Draco whispered in Harry's ear and then bit it slightly. "Do you have any idea how hot you are?"

Harry smirked slightly. "Some," he said. "The leather is a turn on, I take it?"

 _Everything about you is a turn on_. "Maybe," Draco said. "Or maybe it's the fact that it's been four days since I've been inside you."

Harry moaned as Draco kissed him again and he bucked his hips, trying to grind against Draco. "Let's go," he said and pulled Draco up the steps as they left trails of clothing on their way to the shower.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco gets bad news.

Draco didn't know what was worse, the betrayal he felt from Harry, or the apathy his company received from the twins. He sagged in his office chair and loosened his tie—something he almost never did at work. At work, he was determined to always be put together, but today wasn't one of those days.

"Hey," Neville said walking in through the door and closing it behind him. "What's the plan?"

In the beginning, things were looking up. That's when Draco thought he should have realised that something was wrong. Things didn't always go as planned. His association with Harry, outside the business aspect of it, was going well. It wasn't a big deal, and neither of them was making it out to be. Things were ameliorating. Harry helped take Draco's stress away, and Draco enjoyed his conversations with Harry. 

He knew that they'd crossed the line of just fucking to somewhat dating, given that they'd get dinner before going over to Harry's place, still, he didn't dwell on it. He had work to focus on. 

At first, the sign was small. It was just an ad placed in the UK papers, and no one had noticed it. No one right away, of course. Sheila was the one that'd pointed it out to Draco and Neville at their staff meeting. 

Marketing Malfoy's were representing Potter and Friends, Inc, which was a toy company that focused on early-childhood development. So when they saw an advert similar to theirs in the paper for a company—Nott Your Average Toys—they had almost dismissed it. Marketing circles were small and when focusing on a particular type of brand, similarities was common.

Except, the next piece of advertising that was on television, was hard to miss. It was _exactly_ like the plan Draco and Neville had come up with for Potter and Friends. But, it wasn't for Potter's company, it was for Nott's. 

Draco knew Nott once when they were growing up. He'd dated Pansy for a about a minute. But, they hadn't seen each other in nearly a dozen years. How in the world would Nott's company follow the same marketing plan as Draco's? It wasn't even a formula Draco knew that was so common with his father's former business dealings. It was new, and original, and concealed.

"Didn't you email our proposal to the Potters?" Sheila had asked and that was when both Neville and Draco had remembered it. They had. They'd sent it to Z. Smith. Potter's PA.

Neville had immediately called Harry and asked to set up an emergency meeting. By the time Draco, Neville, and Sheila went over to Potter Industries, they already knew. And they had already dropped Marketing Malfoy's contract.

-*-*-

_"It's not us, we didn't leak anything," one of the twins said. He was respectful but firm at the same time. That's all they kept on saying throughout the meeting. They had apparently decided to go with the other company that had also reached out to them._

_They'd already given the contract to Patil & Brown. _

_"Their proposal wasn't as strong as yours, but, at least this way we won't look like we're just copying Nott," the other twin said. Draco was so much in disbelief that he didn't even bother to register which one was Fred, and which one was George. Harry, on the other hand, was awfully quiet._

_"I don't understand," Neville said. He was calm enough for both Draco and himself. Sheila was busy flipping through her mobile looking at the social media sites, seeing how far this had gone. "We received an email from Z. Smith, who had asked on your behalf, Harry. He said that you'd requested the marketing tools. That you wanted to go over the presentation—"_

_"Zach Smith is no longer an employee at Potter Industries," the twins said at the same time. "We did not advice—"_

_"He must have stolen the presentation and sold it to Nott's PR company," Harry said. "He must have taken it right before he—"_

_"Harry," one of the twins tried to warn him. "We can't—"_

_"It's not our fault. But it is," Harry said, and Draco thought that Harry's voice shook a bit, as if he was devastated. What did he have to be upset about? Their business would continue booming, it was Marketing Malfoy's that'd suffered the loss. All the tools were set for implementation. The cost for labour, and supplies, and... Draco sighed. He didn't even want to think about that at the moment. It wasn't about the money. It'd never been. But the way the twins had acted, it obviously was to them._

_"Draco..." Harry whispered his name and the twins turned to look at him. Surprise clearly registered on their faces and Harry hesitated. "I..."_

_"Fuck. Off." Draco pushed his chair back and away from the table and it screeched against the wooden floor. "It's not your bloody problem, is it? This is not personal. This is business." Draco watched Harry's face cringe at the words._

_Good._

_He turned to walk out of the conference room, and didn't wait for Neville and Sheila to follow. They would follow him, he was sure of it. By the time he reached the door, he heard Neville's voice._

_"When Zach Smith emailed us asking for the presentation, he was an employee at your company. You, the three of you, signed the confidentiality contract. He being Harry's PA at the time, was covered under the same clause. Whether or not he worked here while he shared the private info with another company, is irrelevant. You signed the contract. You are liable for this breach. We will be filing a suit."_

_Draco didn't turn, but he waited until Neville was by his side. They walked out together, and Draco heard the click of Sheila's heels following their silent footsteps._

-*-*-

"What's the plan?" Neville asked.

Draco looked up at him and he saw the look of pity in Neville's eyes. He knew that Neville didn't mean it like that, but it was the same look he'd received from people when his father had been caught. His father had been stupid, and people had pitied Draco. Now, he had no one to place for those looks. He deserved them, even. His gaze returned to his desk.

"You've already filed the motion with the solicitor?" Draco asked, not looking up. If Neville nodded, he didn't know.

"Yes," Neville said. "Sheila's team is going to follow up on it. Her cousin works at Wood and Bell, LLC. So they'll keep up updated on their dealings with Potter's firm, Weasley and Granger."

Draco looked up again then.

"Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are married, obviously, Ron is the twins' younger brother." 

"How big is that bloody family?" Draco asked. He didn't really expect an answer but it looked like Neville was counting in his head.

"Seven kids. I think. Yeah. Seven," he said.

Draco didn't respond. He didn't care. Seven Weasleys and their adopted Harry Potter. He only had Neville and Hannah in his corner. It was a good thing that Astoria had been willing to be on good terms with Draco since Oliver Wood's company had come highly recommended from her. They'd been dealing with Marketing Malfoy's from the start.

"Well, we have Oliver Wood," Neville said, as if he'd read Draco's mind. "He's the best we can afford. Ron and Hermione are new at starting their firm. If we ask Oliver to press them, I'm sure he won't have any troubles."

"They are your friends," Draco said. "I don't know—"

"Yeah. And you're my business partner, and my family, Draco," Neville said, stern. "We'll get through this."

Draco's heart swelled up at the words. Family. It was mostly a joke to him, but when Neville said it, it felt like something solid.

"I think I'm going to take some time off," Draco said, closing the file he was obviously not working on. "Give this to Sheila to follow up. I'm going home. If the lawyers need anything, let me know. I'll keep checking my messages and emails."

"Where will you go?" Neville asked. He looked relieved as if he was worried that Draco was going to just dive back into work and over exert himself. That's what old Draco would've done. Determined Draco. Now, he was just a defeated Draco. He needed to take a step back, sort out his priorities and come up with new ideas to take on a bigger firm. Bigger than Potter Industries.

"Barcelona. I'm going to go and spend some time with my son."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it was a short chapter and it's bit of a cliffhanger. Also, don't hate me, this series will be back in January. I'll be taking the rest of the month to work on the story. And finish it before it's all posted in Jan. 2016! Thank you.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry comes to see Draco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sitting on this chapter for a while b/c I wanted to write the next one and post it also. I wanted to give the readers something more concrete than just a porny chapter (lol) but I just don't have the mental/non-exhausted time right now to do anything. I hope you'll forgive me.

Draco's office manager Millicent called him a taxi as he waited in the lobby of the office. He didn't want to be at his desk anymore. He told Neville that he wasn't going to check his work email for at least a week and that Neville would have to handle the end of things for a little bit. 

Neville had graciously agreed and promised to only call Draco if it were an emergency. 

"Don't think I'm not going to text you, though. I'm going to want to make sure you're all right, okay?" Neville said as Draco was getting ready to get in the cab.

"I wouldn't expect anything else," Draco said and then he was off.

He went into his personal email on his smartphone and quickly typed a message to Astoria. He let her know that he had some holiday time coming up and that he was thinking of spending some time with Scorpius. Along with the fact that he was not going to tell his mother or Pansy about it so Astoria wouldn't have to worry about any uninvited guests. 

By the time he reached home, Astoria had replied to him.

_It sounds wonderful. Let me know the details of your flight and Scorpius and I will be at the airport to come and get you. No need to get a hotel, you'll be staying with us. My family house is empty and I'm sure Scorpius would like to see you as much as he can. He's been having a tough time making new friends here so seeing a familiar face will really brighten his mood._

Draco smiled to himself as he read the last line and paid the taxi driver. Just as he was about to reach the front steps of his building, he found Harry there. Undoubtedly, waiting for him. He had his motorcycle helmet in one hand and his leather gloves in the other.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, he tried not to make his voice sound dry. Perhaps Harry was there for legal reasons and Draco didn't want to cross the line between personal and professionalism.

"Your secretary told me you'd left for the day so I took a chance," Harry said shrugging. He was wearing contacts and Draco could see Harry's eyes clearly. The green was dark around the edges and added to it was the apologetic expression on Harry's face; he looked bloody gorgeous. Draco hated how that was his first thought. 

"Well, are you here to discuss our lawsuit?" Draco asked.

"No," Harry said. "You can have whatever you want. We were in the wrong. I'm not going to fight it and the twins—"

"Seemed rather hell bent on proving that it was not your company's fault."

"I know, but it's okay. It'll be all right. I'm going to fix it."

Draco almost snorted and realising that it was rude but not caring, brushed past Harry towards the front door.

"Draco..." Harry's voice quivered and Draco's heart sank. No, he didn't want to invite this man into his home. He wanted to push Harry away. Far, far away, but Draco knew that one more plea from Harry and he'd be done for. He didn't have control over this. He didn't have control over how he felt about the man. 

He turned to look at Harry who had dropped his bike helmet and his gloves on the ground and he was rubbing his face. If Draco didn't know any better, which he didn't, he thought that Harry was working his hardest to not have a breakdown right then and there. 

"Harry, I can't—"

"Please..." Harry approached him and put his hand on Draco's shoulder. "I don't know—I can't—"

Draco turned to open the door and motioned his head towards Harry's things. Harry quickly grabbed his helmet and his gloves and followed Draco up into his flat. They were quiet all the way down the hall, and then up the lifts.

"I'll fix this," Harry said, right before the lift door opened to the level where they had to get off.

"Stop saying that," Draco said, angry at himself, at Harry, and most of all the words his father often repeated to his clients. _I'll fix this_. If someone was going to fucking fix it, then they'd do it. Not make empty promises. He had half a mind to tell Harry that, but he refrained. It wouldn't mean anything. Draco didn't care.

They entered the flat, quiet again. Half of Draco's thoughts were towards packing, going online to book a flight to Barcelona, and the rest were concentrated on how his body felt being so close to Harry. How he wanted to just drag Harry upstairs, take off all his bloody clothes and pound into him. He wanted to have control over Harry. He wanted Harry to beg and plead for Draco to just fuck him; the way he always did. Then, Draco wanted to be held. Let Harry make him feel like everything was going to be okay; like it always was with him. 

But everything was not going to be okay. He'd let Harry in, and Harry and his company had screwed everything up. If he wasn't so busy trying to fuck Draco, maybe Harry would have paid attention that his own staff member was stealing from him.

Harry placed his helmet and gloves on top of the tall bar table by the door. He turned to look at Draco and took off his jacket. He was expecting something. An invitation to the bedroom? What was this? Sex as a peace offering?

"Take off your clothes and get on the sofa," Draco said in a dry tone. His mouth felt dry. If Harry resisted, Draco was sure that he was just going to kick him out and move on with his life. Buy a new flat and never look back.

Harry nodded and followed his orders. He started to remove his clothes, eyes not leaving Draco's so Draco turned away. He went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He drank one and then brought two back into the sitting room where Harry was doing exactly what Draco had told him. He was naked, knees on sofa cushions, his stomach pressed against the back and his arse looking ready for Draco to take.

Draco placed the water glasses on the side table next to the sofa and then reached down to open a hidden drawer where he kept an extra bottle of lube. He fetched a condom out of his wallet and then removed his shoes, socks, and trousers. He still kept his collared shirt, tie, and suit jacket on. If all Harry wanted was for Draco to fuck him then that's what Draco was going to do.

He was generous with the lube as he stretched Harry open and then put on the condom. All the while, Harry didn't say anything. He let out small whimpers when Draco was harsh with him, but they were mostly in pleasure. Draco was being careful to make sure that he didn't cross the line. He couldn't hinder away from his desire, he couldn't deny Harry, and he hated himself for it, but he wasn't an animal. 

Finally, Draco entered him and Harry finally spoke. " _Yes..._ " It hadn't been that long since the last time Draco and Harry had been together, but when he felt Harry's hole clench around his cock, Draco nearly lost it. 

"Don't talk," Draco demanded. He didn't want to know that Harry felt good. This wasn't more than just satisfying a physical need, for the last time.

Harry's hands were grasping the sofa tightly and as Draco pushed in and out of him, Draco noticed that Harry's cock was rubbing up against the fabric. It must have been enough sensation for Harry for he never once touched his cock and as Draco spilled himself in the condom, still inside Harry, Harry's orgasm shortly followed. 

He pulled out slowly, his knees shaking a bit. He cleaned himself up first, and placed the box of tissues next to Harry on the sofa. He turned around so he didn't have to face Harry, and he spoke, "I'm going to take a shower. When I'm back...I don't want to see you here. Please leave."

With that, Draco left the room and went into the shower, locking the bathroom door behind him.

When he returned to the sitting room twenty minutes later, Harry was nowhere to be seen. He was glad for it. He really didn't know if he had it in him to kick Harry out, call the police if he had to. Would he have done that, though? He wasn't sure.

On the table by the door where Harry had first placed his helmet, was an envelope. Draco crossed the room in three strides and immediately opened it. It was a legal document from Weasley and Granger, LLC. The document indicated that the settlement terms that Oliver's law firm had proposed were accepted without contention. At the bottom were Harry's signature, and all Draco had to do was to make sure that he and Neville signed it and then gave them to his lawyer. 

Draco immediately signed it and then sent a text message to Neville telling him about it. He told Neville that he could come by and pick up the papers whenever he had the time. As he started to fold the papers and place them back in the envelope, Draco found another note. It was on a four by four yellow sticky note.

From Harry, of course. _It's not an empty promise, Draco. I will fix this._

Draco crumpled the note and threw it in the rubbish bin. Next, he took out his laptop and pulled up flight information from London to Barcelona.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco gets to know Scorpius better and forget Harry.

Draco's flight arrived at ten in the morning. By the time he'd checked out with his luggage, he found Astoria and Scorpius waiting there for him. He couldn't believe how grown Scorpius looked since the last time Draco had seen him. What was even more amazing was that Astoria looked well. Really well. He supposed that leaving Pansy behind for good probably had been the best decision for her.

"How is work?" Astoria asked casually as Scorpius sat in her lap while they drove away from the airport and to the countryside where her family's home was.

Draco tried not making a face but he knew he failed. She'd always been just so observant, and he always found it surprising how different she was from her sister. 

"That much fun?" she asked laughing, but he heard the seriousness in her voice.

"It would have been fine if it was just a business deal which had gone wrong, but there were other complications," Draco said, looking out of the window on the road as they sped by. He hoped the disappointment that had crept up in his voice didn't entirely escape into his expressions.

"What's his name?" Astoria asked, and when Draco turned around to look at her, she placed her hand on his knee. "Love is the only thing that can cause complications in a business deal."

Draco quickly glanced down at Scorpius who was playing a game on Astoria's mobile and didn't look like he was paying them any attention. When he caught Astoria's gaze again, her eyes were soft and the smile was genuine and sympathetic.

Draco could have lied. He could have told her it was about the betrayal of Neville's friends, and their company. That someone the other company had trusted screwed them over, but then he didn't know why he even bothered to have talked about the complication in the first place. It was an unconscious slip of the tongue, obviously. Even if all he'd been doing was trying not to think about Harry.

"It doesn't matter," Draco said, looking out of the window again. "It's over."

Astoria didn't press the issue. She probably figured it was best since he'd never imposed anything on her, she could at least return the favour. They soon arrived at the Greengrass family mansion, and Scorpius pulled on Draco's arm to take him inside. He wanted to give Draco his personal tour.

*-*-*

It was easy to fall into the dream of Barcelona, the beautiful family mansion, and the company of a little boy that he could easily call his son. Draco felt like he was in heaven. There were no preconceived notions of where he'd come from, who his father was, and the last man that had betrayed him. There was just gorgeous scenery, breakfast at the ready, and undivided attention from a beautiful woman and her son.

Still, Draco knew it wasn't real. It was all make believe. Even if Astoria and Scorpius were real, they weren't his to keep forever. He couldn't give Astoria what she needed in a partnership and vice versa. Sure, they'd eventually become the best of friends, but the partnership, the trust and the love they both required, it was obvious the other didn't have it. There would always be something missing. Living like long lost siblings wasn't the type of partnership they'd find ideal.

"Scorpius wants you to take him to school tomorrow," Astoria told Draco as he sat in the garden of her estate and took in the view. It was green everywhere; they had a team of gardeners who kept the place up beautifully.

"Oh?" Draco asking, looking away from the magnificent sight of the garden and the hot gardener. 

"He can tell you're sad," she said, sounding careful. Draco turned his body towards her then, giving her his undivided attention. "Children are more observant than we give them credit for. He knew I was wasn't happy living in London, and even though he misses Pansy, he's told me he's happy here with me. He thinks you'll leave soon because you arrived sad and have stayed sad."

"And I'm going to go to his school because..."

Astoria shrugged sipping her tea. "He wants to show you off before you leave," she said.

"Why didn't he ask me himself?"

"And risk getting rejected?" She threw her head back and laughed. "He's a Malfoy, after all. He'll never ask the questions he's afraid he doesn't already know the answer to."

Draco tried to read her face then, to see if there was something she wanted to say to him but wasn't going to. "Tell him to ask me," he said, smiling. "And tell him it's not always so bad to take a leap of faith."

"You ever follow your own advice?" she asked, her tone slightly teasing.

"I am here, aren't I?" Draco said, settling back into his chair, and ogling the gardener again who'd now taken his shirt off. There was no harm in looking, he told himself. Looking was good for now. It'd be a while until he'd want to touch again.

*-*-*

The next day, Draco got up bright and early to accompany Scorpius to school. Instead of the driver and Astoria taking him, it was just Draco. He was glad for the distraction because even if his mini-holiday was nearly a dream come true, he was starting to become restless. He thought about emailing or calling Neville all the time and asking him for a side-project. He was sure the company was doing fine since there were no updates from Neville, and if he'd offer for work, he'd only receive a lecture in return.

His email activity had been disappointingly quiet. Not all that disappointing given he'd received no messages from his mother or Pansy either, but maybe every morning when Draco would log on, he'd hope to see a message. A message that was never there. A message he didn't want to see in the first place.

"We'll start with the Math teacher first," Scorpius said to him, yanking Draco out of his trance.

"Yeah? Is that your favourite subject?" he asked.

Scorpius nodded, and looked out the window. "It's a nice drive to school, but I wish I could take the bus."

"And why don't you?"

"We live too far and no school buses travel as far as the house. That's my Mum drives me. Maybe..." He trailed off and Draco wondered if he should have nudged him or simply wait for a response. If he was a Malfoy, as Astoria had pointed out, he'd open up on his own.

They drove quietly for a full five minutes before Scorpius spoke again.

"Some of the kids take the bus to the last stop and their parents pick them up from there. Maybe Mum can do that, too. You know? Only drive me half way there."

"Have you asked her?" Draco asked and Scorpius shook his head. "Well, I think she'd be okay with it. Drive you to the bus stop so you can spend time with your friends on the bus. Did you make a lot of friends?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Most kids take the bus."

"Ah..." Draco said, understanding completely. Clearly the school bus was the social scene and Scorpius felt like he was missing out. The time Draco had spent with Scorpius, he'd learned how just full of energy he was and completely unafraid. He wasn't sure if the traits Scorpius had were an influence from Pansy, or if they were something more genetic.

"Will you be with me if I ask Mum?" Scorpius asked quietly.

"Of course," Draco said immediately. "I'll be there." He wanted to say he'd do anything for Scorpius, since he'd absolutely fallen in love with this boy, his son, but didn't. Draco hated empty confessions and promises. He'd rather show Scorpius he'd be there for him; that he'd been willing to do anything for him.

They finally arrived at the school and Scorpius dragged Draco to each teacher's office to introduce him. Most of his teachers were courteous, and almost all of them spoke highly of Scorpius, however, there were a few that looked at him sceptically. Draco figured if Scorpius didn't have the signature Malfoy hair, just like Draco, then they wouldn't have actually believed that he was the father.

"Where is Mrs Malfoy?" the History teacher asked. She had her hair tied up tightly in a bun, and her dark brown hair were scrutinising Draco.

"There isn't one, unless you mean Astoria?" Draco said politely.

" _Miss_ Greengrass is Scorpius's mother and you are his father, but you are not married?"

"No. We are good friends and here to support Scorpius," Draco answered and immediately took his leave. Of all the things he'd been expecting at Scorpius's school, he'd not thought that they'd start judging him.

"Mr Malfoy," the teacher called after him, and Draco had no other choice but to turn.

"I have noticed a change in his behaviour over the past few days. I would think it is safe to say your presence in his life means a lot to Scorpius. I can only hope you will continue to be near him. I think a boy needs a father, even if he has all of his mother's love."

Draco nodded. "Of course. I live in London and am here for holiday, but yes, I agree with you. I'm in Scorpius's life for good now. I will be more present...even if I'm not here physically."

Finally, Draco saw the woman's resolve starting to melt, and she offered her hand to Draco. Draco shook it, tentatively.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Malfoy," she said.

"Thank you," Draco said, and this time, really ran out of the door.

After Scorpius was settled in his first class, Draco went over to the principal's office to inquire about the school bus situation. He wanted to gather all the information he could and provide it to Astoria so she could be ready for it when Scorpius would ask her about it.

It was clear to Draco that Scorpius made friends easily, easier than any other boy Draco had ever known. He wanted to keep seeing that smile on Scorpius's face and he knew Astoria would do the same.

*-*-*

"Draco while you were out, someone called on the house phone. They left a message. It's on the pad next to the phone in the sitting room," Astoria called out to Draco from her home office as soon as Draco entered the house.

"Someone called for me? Here?" Draco asked.

"Yes," she said, coming out of the office. Her hair was loosely tied in a ponytail with a few strands hanging by her cheek. It looked natural yet deliberate, and she looked absolutely radiant. Her natural beauty was a huge reason to why Pansy was attracted to Astoria, but it was her warm personality that'd won Draco over. He still couldn't believe how Pansy had simply let her go, and he wondered how long it'd be until she'd come crawling back.

"Felipe took the message," she continued. "He had trouble understanding them, of course, as his English isn't fluent. But from what he gathered, they tried to call your mobile, but since you've switched it off and are using mine, they had no other way of reaching you."

"How did they even get this number?" Draco wondered.

"Best call back and find out," Astoria said, shrugging, and returned to her laptop.

"What are you working on, anyway?" Draco asked, following her into the office.

Astoria sat down on the chair in front of her laptop and turned the screen for Draco to see. He loved how open she was, nothing like Pansy who was secretive about everything she did, even if it was sending an sms to her next door neighbour to watch the cat.

"You know that I was in the teacher training programme before Pansy and I got married?" she asked Draco and he nodded. "Anyway, I was just thinking about the times I was happiest and the kind of work I enjoyed doing. Teaching seemed like the natural thing, so I'm looking at some certifications I can get at Barcelona University so I can teach English to speakers of other languages. It's a fairly simple process, I just have to take some tests—"

"That's brilliant. So you'll be going into the city with Scorpius—"

"Yeah, that's the plan. To drop him off at school, and then work during the day, and maybe the driver could pick him up or I could—"

"About that," Draco said, turning her office chair around so she could face him. "Let me show you something..."


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Astoria have a fine day when _this_ happens...

Draco made his way to the sitting room and found the land line phone on the small table next to the grand sofa. There was a message scribbled on it, barely legible, but Draco managed to get the basic gist of it.

Gregory Goyle. His mobile number. And a word that looked like it said: _business opportunity_.

Goyle? Draco hadn't seen Goyle in over five years. Just like Nott, Goyle and Draco had lost touch a while ago and last he'd heard, he was living in..." _bloody hell_ ," Draco mumbled. _Barcelona_.

Instead of returning Goyle's call, Draco phoned Neville. He told Neville of the vague message he'd received, and they both wondered how Goyle had obtained Astoria's home number.

"Some clients have been calling inquiring about you, and I think Millicent told them you were on holiday in Barcelona. He must have figured out you'd be at the Greengrass Estate. Didn't you travel with him for a summer?"

"You're right. I wonder if he knows of Pansy and Astoria's split. But how would he— You don't think Millicent would have told him exactly where I was."

"I don't think she'd do it intentionally," Neville said when Hannah's voice jumped into the phone.

"You know how he was back in Uni, Draco," she said. "He probably finagled that info out of Millicent without her even realising it. I'll speak to her though. God knows, how many people she might have unintentionally told about your—"

"I think we should stop being so paranoid about our Office Manager," Draco said, chiming in. "Not everyone's PA is going to backstab his or her boss."

"You're right, but it's best to be careful," Hannah said.

Draco chuckled lightly. Hannah had an inexplicable mistrust of Millicent, even since at a holiday party, Millicent had drunkenly confessed of having a crush on Neville. She'd also said she had a crush on Sheila, as well, but Sheila's girlfriend hadn't come marching into the office, jealous and angry.

"Just be nice to her, and if you think she's in the clear..." which Draco was sure she would be, "have her set up a meeting between me and Goyle. Then call me back to let me know when and where the meeting is."

"How debonair," Neville said into the phone. "There's the calm and collected CEO of Marketing Malfoy's we love and fear."

Draco smiled, unable to control himself. Good thing they couldn't see him now and this wasn't a Skype call, then he'd definitely have to hide his reddening face. It was a good move to have someone else handle the meeting details, this way, he wouldn't be caught off-guard to knowing what _business opportunity_ Gregory Goyle might have for him.

"I'll have her decline his first few options, make it sound like you're very busy handling other clients," Neville said.

"Excellent," Draco said.

"When are you coming back, Draco?" Hannah asked and then she said " _What_?" obviously snapping at Neville.

"Soon," Draco replied and they soon ended the call.

-*-*-*

After he'd talked to Neville about meeting with Goyle, Millicent had called him back the next morning, informing him a meeting with head of The Goyle Group was scheduled for Friday evening at seven o'clock at the Mandarin Oriental.

For the next few days, Draco continued to drive and pick Scorpius up from school, spending as much time as he could with Scorpius, and trying not to think about what Goyle would want. He had half a mind to ring up Pansy to ask if she'd given his exact whereabouts to Goyle, but he wanted to avoid _that_ conversation. No doubt, she would inquire about Scorpius's custody, and it was a fight he thought was best face-to-face.

Before Friday arrived, Astoria took Draco shopping for a new suit for what she called, his _very big and important meeting_. He shook his head at her as they walked hand in hand down Passeig de Gràcia, looking at all the brand-named shops.

All the sales-clerks, everywhere they went, had assumed they were a married couple. Especially, when Astoria had them bustling around Draco, fretting over the fitted suit-jackets or the matching shoes.

Finally, when Draco picked out the perfect suit, she'd also insisted on paying for it.

They settled into two comfortable chairs on the patio of Cafe del Gallery, Draco thought he was hallucinating. He found a man staring right at him from the other side of the terrace.

 _No, it couldn't be_. Draco glanced away and looked at Astoria who was sipping at her coffee.

"What is it?" she asked, clearly noticing whatever expression Draco had on his face. _Sheer panic_ , he reckoned.

"I just thought I saw someone—"

"Who?"

"No one important."

"Draco," she said, leaning forward and placing a hand on his. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Draco shrugged. _A ghost of a relationship I never had_.

" _Draco_?" The name was a mere whisper and Draco had to try really hard not to close his eyes and not to feel the electric shock Harry's voice sent down his spine.

Astoria immediately released his hand and straightened up. 

Draco looked up at Harry, his green eyes wide—magnified by the lenses of his glasses, and stood up.

"Hello, Mr Potter," he said, as calmly as he could. "It's good to see you."

"Astoria Greengrass, this is Harry Potter."

Astoria stood up and offered her hand to Harry who shook it smiling. Harry was holding the same hand that'd just been on Draco's. Astoria was touching Harry, and Draco felt a slight pang of jealousy. It was unnecessary, stupid, and completely unlike him.

"The business complication?" Astoria said and then immediately closed her mouth as if she'd not meant to have blurted that out. Or at least, waited until Harry had left.

"I..." Harry started to say.

"You can thank Harry for why I'm visiting you, Astoria."

"And we can thank your sister to how we know each other," Harry said. It sounded like a comeback but Harry's tone was something Draco couldn't place.

"Ah, of course," Draco said. "How could I forget?"

"Would you like to join us, Mr Potter?" Astoria asked and Draco glared at her. Harry must have caught his expression, as fleeting as it had been, and declined.

"No, thank you. I've to run. I just saw..." Harry looked at Draco and nodded, "and I just had to make sure I wasn't imagining things. It wouldn't have surprised me if my eyes played tricks on me. I've missed you," he said the last bit in a whisper, and then reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket he brought out a business card. He scribbled something down on it, and handed it to Draco. "It's where I'm staying. I think you can ask for the room number if you wanted to ring me up. I...uh...noticed your mobile's been off."

Draco opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. He didn't exactly remember telling Harry never to call him again.

"You know what? I'll give you two a minute." Astoria raised her hands as she started to back away.

"Astoria..." Draco said.

"No, please don't—"

"I'm just going off to the loo. I'll be back in five. Please don't feel like you need to rush. If I don't see you when I'm back, Mr Potter, it was good to meet you."

And with that, she was gone. Draco stared at the empty space she left since he refused to look at Harry.

"I'm sorry to ruin your day," Harry said.

"You didn't," Draco said. "I...I suppose it's a small world after all. We managed to go on holiday in the same country."

"I'm not on holiday," Harry said, and he was about to say something when their waiter stopped by the table and brought a chair for Harry.

Draco figured they were probably making a scene by simply awkwardly standing on the patio in the middle of the day. So he took a seat, and Harry followed.

"You were saying..." Draco said when the silence between them was daunting and sure as hell, he wasn't going to bring anything up in conversation.

"Yeah, I'm not on holiday," Harry said, his hands in his lap and he looked like a young boy ready to get reprimanded. "After you and I—I mean after that day—I've been working. I have a business meeting in an hour, and well—"

"It's okay," Draco said, saving them both the awkwardness. "I don't need to know the details of your business dealings. We are not your PR firm."

"Draco, I—"

"It's fine, Harry. I'm over it. The suit's settled and we're moving on. You should too."

Harry scowled at Draco's response and Draco wondered if it sounded as though Draco meant Harry should move on in his personal life too. Had he? Had he moved on with someone else? Was there another man Harry seduced with promises of mind-blowing fucks? Draco convinced himself—he didn't care.

"Draco, you have to know," Harry paused to run a hand through his hair, "I never thought things would get like this between us. At first, it was easy to keep the pleasure and the business apart, but when things got fucked, they _really_ got fucked. I didn't realise, hadn't planned on...shit."

"On what?" Draco asked, and then added, "Getting screwed over by your own PA?" He scoffed as he found it difficult to care about how affected Harry's company had been by it, or how the twins handled it. It was as if they'd got the revenge on Draco, finally made him suffer for how his father had been to Arthur Weasley twenty years ago. Something Draco had no control over.

"No," Harry said, laughing. He shook his head and his fingers thrummed on the table. "I hadn't planned on falling for you."

Draco was stunned silent.

Harry continued, "I thought it was going to be so easy. So perfect. I'd managed to fall in love with someone Sirius's related to. Things were coming full circle. I was an idiot. Nothing in my life has been simple, how could I have thought getting you would be."

"Getting me?"

Draco had no idea what he was supposed to say to that. How would be even respond? He opened his mouth to say something else but Harry's mobile chimed at the same time and went to answer it.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled to Draco as he picked up. "Potter. Yeah? I'm on my way? What do you mean they want to resched— No, that's _not_ an option. Fine. Tell them I can be there in..." Harry looked at his watch, "I'll be there in ten minutes. I don't care. Fine. Yes, I'm sure, Hermione."

"Timing's never right, right?" Harry said standing up. He placed a hand on Draco's shoulder, "It was good to see you, Draco. I hope you'll come and see me. I'm supposed to be here until Tuesday, but I can extend the trip. Please, I hope—" His mobile rang again and Harry released a low groan. "Please, call me."

He answered the phone on his way out and Draco placed his hand on his shoulder where Harry'd just been touching him. As he saw Astoria approaching the table again, Draco wasn't sure if everything that'd just happened was a hallucination. He looked down at his hands and he was holding the card Harry gave him. No, it wasn't his imagination.

Harry was in Barcelona. He snorted with disbelief when Astoria sat down.

"What's the matter?" she asked, taking the card from his hand.

"He's staying at the Mandarin Oriental."

-*-*-*

"You know, it figures as much that he didn't remember me," Astoria said as they sat back into the car and headed back to the house. After the long day of shopping, coffee, and running into Harry, Draco was knackered and could have used a nap.

"Who?" Draco asked, not really listening to what Astoria had been saying.

"Potter," she said. "Let's go by the school and pick up Scorpius first," she told the driver.

"How... _what_?"

"I mean, it was over ten years ago and I was just that groupie—"

"Astoria, what are you talking about?"

"I have met Harry Potter before. Also, was I right? You had an affair with him? Was he a business contact and someone found out? He's not married is he, Draco?"

Astoria looked so scandalised, Draco couldn't help himself but laugh. When he settled down, he managed to tell her his side of the story. "Now, tell me how he's supposed to know you?"

"Oh!" she said, looking reminiscent. "His girlfriend, ex-girlfriend I suppose, was a famous footie star. Her team was always participating in inter-academic competitions and she once played against the team my friends were on. I used to go watch them play _all the time_. One year when they'd won the championship, I was there. She recognised me and came by to talk. We had a grand time talking about the games, and she even gave me her phone number! So we met for coffee a few times until I realised she was straight, had a boyfriend, and then I'd met said boyfriend. Then Daphne invited me to one of her parties where I met Pansy, and well, the rest is history."

"God, I'm so sick of how small the world is. Maybe I should just move to China," Draco said, looking out the window as they neared Scorpius's school.

"If you go, make sure you take me and Scorpius with you," she teased.

"Of course, I wouldn't dare otherwise," Draco replied. He found it funny that a month ago, Astoria and Scorpius were just two people that he were on the back of his mind, and now, they were a part of him as if they'd always been there. If it weren't for Pansy, and her own manipulating, Draco would have never reached out to her. Now, he felt a part of something, he'd never thought he'd have. He _loved_ Scorpius. In just a few short weeks, he'd completely fallen for that boy and couldn't imagine his life without him.

So, yeah, he knew he wasn't going to actually move to China, even if it sounded promising. He wouldn't dare be away from Scorpius now. Besides, it seemed no matter where he went, he was going to run into Harry.

*-*-*


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Oh, what a tangled web we weave...when first we practice to deceive.” ― Walter Scott, Marmion_

It was uncomfortable from the moment he'd sat down.

When Draco walked into the restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental, he found Gregory waiting for him. The man had that same smile on his face that Draco had remembered from their school years.

That creepy sneer that meant he had a secret, it was a good one, and it was about you.

"Draco! So good to see you again," Goyle said placing his hand on Draco's just as the waitress had walked up to them. "Sorry, we're going to need a few minutes."

Draco always hated when Goyle talked on his behalf. He generally hated when anyone talked on his behalf, but, especially Goyle. He'd no idea what he was doing there, and if anything. He should just leave. His gut was telling him to leave.

"So sorry to hear about the Potter account," Goyle said; Draco couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Sure, it wasn't uncommon knowledge, but why would he bring that up here? In Barcelona of all places. Why did he want to meet with Draco?

There were so many questions popping in his head; he was sure Goyle wasn't going to answer any of them.

"What do you want?" That was a direct question the man would have certainly replied to.

"Come work for me."

"For you?"

"With me."

Draco resisted not rolling his eyes. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Nott your average toys," Goyle said.

It took Draco a minute to recuperate, especially since he was struggling to seem impassive.

"Smith," Draco said calmly. Proud at how his voice didn't even flinch.

"He's on the payroll, yeah," Goyle answered.

That's why Goyle was here. That's why... _Harry_ was here. Harry was still pursuing the lead?

 _I'll fix this_.

The words rang in Draco's head again. The words Harry had spoken, and the words he'd written to Draco. Was Harry actually fixing this? How was that even possible?

"Why did you pick this place to meet?" Draco asked, trying to divert the conversation away to something else that didn't make him think of Harry. Not in the straightforward fashion, anyway.

Goyle shrugged.

 _He knows Harry is here_.

"What game are you playing, Goyle?"

"I just want you on my team. It's a nice firm you've got going with Longbottom, but it's not going to last much, is it? I mean you've got the interns helping you, but even if they are young, they're going to find out about your father's scandals. Frankly, you were almost involved in one recently— It's best to get out while you can. You had a good idea with the marketing for the Potter campaign, but Nott's better. _We're_ better and bigger and—"

"I need you to stop talking now," Draco said. He took a moment to compose himself. He drank the glass of water in front of him and took another deep breath. "You paid Smith off to steal my ideas so you could...what? Hire me?"

Goyle reached over, grabbing Draco's hand again. He softly rubbed his thumb over Draco's wrist in a circular motion. "I want you, Draco. I always have. Professionally and... _otherwise_. We can be great together."

"You're fucking delusional," Draco said. He didn't yank his hand from Goyle's grasp though. Not right away. Part of him wanted to know what else Goyle had planned.

"No, Draco. I'm a visionary," Goyle replied. "We've got an office in New York City, Los Angeles, and we're moving to Buenos Aires next. You could be part of something huge. I'm flying there next Friday." 

It sounded good. It all sounded promising, but did Draco want that kind of life? His father had barely been home when he was growing up. As much as his mother might have loved him, she'd also not wasted much time in remarrying. Did he want to be like that? It was one thing when he was unattached, already distant enough from Pansy, and — well, could he do that to Neville? Neville wanted to be settled with Hannah and the baby. And Scorpius...Draco's thoughts trailed off again. 

No, he wasn't going to be like this father. He wasn't going to abandon his son to make a name for himself. This was a rabbit hole Draco didn't want to fall into. Besides, it was more than obvious if he followed Goyle, he'd be following in his father's footsteps. He'd be marching down a road of lies and deceit—eventually to a point where there'd be no return. 

"This offer won't last long," Goyle said, writing something on a napkin and sliding it to Draco. Draco turned the napkin over so he wouldn't see whatever Goyle had written. It was probably some huge sum of money that would be a sign-on bonus. Draco could take that money, not that he needed it, but he could have given it to Neville and Hannah to start over. 

"Not interested," Draco replied, pushing the napkin back. Neville wouldn't take the money; he'd only kill Draco, instead. 

"You're just going to hold onto that pride forever, Draco? I didn't think of you as a fool," Goyle said, shaking his head, and crumbling the napkin.

"It's not foolish I want to stand up on my own, and not follow your lies. You bought Smith off, destroyed another man's company—a man who'd done nothing to you, _and_ you destroyed the hard work Neville and I had put in. And now what?" Draco sneered, but he'd also had an epiphany. He thought he'd figured out why Goyle really wanted him. 

"You don't have the marketing plans. You only had the first step. Smith could only get you what we'd presented to Harr—the Weasleys. You stole the general idea but now you don't know where to go." 

Goyle scoffed. "You think you're the only person in the world with a vision?" He leaned over again, and _again_ held onto Draco's hand. Draco found himself feeling like he was in the midst of a bad date and the bloke was just not taking no for an answer. 

"You stole the vision. Now you need direction," Draco said, almost in disbelief. 

Goyle looked as though he was about to retort but something behind Draco's head caught his attention. His lips twitched, but he kept an impassive expression on. 

Draco turned to look and found Harry standing a few feet away from them. His eyes fixed on Goyle holding onto Draco's hand. His gaze was burning towards them, and Draco felt his own face heat up. What could he possibly be thinking? Technically Draco knew Harry was staying at this very hotel, and how much of a coincidence would it be that Draco was at the bar of the very same hotel, holding another man's hand. Even if he wasn't the one who'd initiated the physical contact—it would look all the same to him. 

"Mr Potter," Goyle said when Harry approached them. "Good to see you again." 

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," Harry replied. 

_Good to see you again? Again?_

"Why don't you join us?" Goyle motioned towards the other chair at their table. Draco couldn't help but wonder if Goyle had planned all of this. It wouldn't have surprised him one bit. "I find it fascinating you keep finding me." 

"Well, I am staying here," Harry said. 

The confusion must have been visible on Draco's face because Harry sat next to Draco and then spoke again, "Mr Goyle and I had a meeting earlier today. I was able to locate him in Barcelona and flew here. We were discussing Zacharias's location." 

"And I told you, I'm afraid, I've no idea what you're talking about." 

"Of course, you don't," Harry said sounding slightly annoyed but he was putting up a good front about it. If Draco hadn't known Harry so intimately, he wouldn't have picked up on the irritation; he doubted Goyle had picked it up though. Then, he surprised Draco even more by reaching over the table towards Draco and Goyle's hands—Draco had not realised that they were still holding hands—and he picked up Goyle's to move it off Draco's. 

"Possessive..." Goyle said. 

"Well, you keep staking a claim on things that don't belong to you," Harry answered. 

"I didn't realise Mr Malfoy belonged to you, Potter" Goyle said. 

"Draco doesn't belong to anyone but himself," Harry said. 

"I'm sitting right here, and if the two of you are done with your pissing contest—" 

"I'm looking for Zach," Harry said immediately before Goyle could chime in. 

As if the tension on the table wasn't bad enough, a waiter hovered over them, looking to see if they were going to order anything. Goyle dismissed him by ordering a around for the table. 

"And I told you, I've no idea what you're talking about," Goyle replied; lying through his teeth, obviously. 

Harry looked at Draco and something passed between them; Draco knew no matter his feelings on the matter, no matter his feelings for Harry, he needed to step up. This was the chance for him to do the right thing. He'd lost the contract for Potter and Friends, and it'd been a professional blow, still, there was a matter of ethics. He couldn't let Goyle—he couldn't let Smith get away with it. 

"I thought you said he was on the payroll," Draco said, leaning forward and this time, he was holding Goyle's hands. "Wasn't he the one who gave you your vision, Gregory?" He felt Harry next to him shift uncomfortably, but ignored it. 

"Draco, darling..." Goyle said, his tone was sweet, but the underlying threat was hard to miss. "What we discuss—" 

"I'm not your lawyer," Draco said with a cool tone. "You admitted to doing _anything_ so we can be great together. Have you already forgotten?" 

Goyle withdrew his hands from Draco's grasp, and just at that time, the waiter stopped by with his drinks. 

"Excuse me," Harry said abruptly, stood up from the table, and left. 

Draco tried to control his expression, but he feared the surprise of Harry leaving them had caught him off-guard, and he'd let it shown. He'd thought they were going to team up together to get Goyle down, but, was Harry running away? 

When he turned to look at his drink, he found Goyle reading him with great interest. 

"Ah, mixed business with pleasure, had you?" Goyle asked, and Draco winced. He hated that expression _so_ much. "And yet, you have troubles with jumping into bed with me. I would take care of you—" 

"How many times do I have to repeat myself? I don't want to be taken care of, Goyle. Not by you, not by anyone." He wanted to get up and walk away from the table right then and there. But he had a strange feeling there was still some unfinished business left. Was it with Goyle, or with Harry? Draco wasn't so sure. 

"Fine," Goyle said, raising his hand in mock surrender. "I'll leave you alone for now, but so help me, Draco, if take any action against me—" 

"What? You'll put me out of business?" Draco gave a dry laugh. "I'm not alone, Goyle, I have people. You have Smith that you're hiding, but for how long? Soon all of this is going to blow up in your face. Maybe not tomorrow, or next week, but it will. I learned at least that much from my father. You stole one idea of mine, but where that idea came from..." Draco paused to tap at his temple, "a million other ideas reside there. So don't—don't contact me again. Don't even _think_ about me again. I certainly won't be thinking about you." 

That seemed to shut Goyle up for a few seconds. Finally, he got up and left the hotel bar...and ran right into Harry. 

Harry was on his phone; he gave Draco a tentative smile, "Hold on one second," he said into the phone and offered his mobile to Draco. 

"What?" 

"I think you should take this..." 

Draco raised an eyebrow and cautiously took the phone. Harry placed his hand on the small of Draco's back and walked them away from the hotel lobby area. They found a quiet corner by the lifts when Draco finally spoke into the phone. 

"This is Draco Malfoy." 

" _Draco_!" 

"Oliver?" Draco asked, confused. "Why were you speaking to—" 

" _I'm actually on a conference call, Draco..._ " Oliver said and then another person's voice came over. A female voice. " _Mr Malfoy, this is Hermione Granger of Weasley and Granger, LLC. We were just discussing with Mr Wood about contacting you_ —" 

Oliver cut in, " _I didn't want to bother you when you were on holiday, Draco. I was going to have Neville call at Astoria's tomorrow but Potter called Granger and_ —" 

"What is going on?" Draco asked, confused and frustrated. 

" _Mr Malfoy, Harry's informed us Gregory Goyle has all but confessed to you he knows the whereabouts of Zacharias Smith. We are filing a motion against Mr Smith but he's been missing. We sent a Police Officer over at his flat in London, but it's been cleared out, and the neighbours haven't seen him in weeks. His phone's been turned off, and he's not answering any emails_." 

"You've filed a motion?" Draco asked, looking at Harry, whose warm green eyes were fixed on Draco's. 

" _We are charging Mr Smith with the theft of intellectual property by stealing your marketing plans for Potter and Friends and selling them to the Goyle Group. If Gregory Goyle had cooperated with us, then we would have solved this easily, however, he's seeming to be rather difficult to deal with_ —" 

"Yeah, he excels at that," Draco said smiling, and Harry raised an eyebrow.

" _Unfortunately, we only have a few options left. First, if we file a suit against the Goyle Group stating they corroborated in the theft, then the suit will go public and it'll be one colossal disaster. Then, they would be forced to silently give Mr Smith up, or deal with the ramifications of a public trial. This would also be very interesting for Theodore Nott's company, who seems to have no idea the marketing designs for their new product were actually stolen_ —" 

"He was trying to recruit me to work for them—with them—Goyle, I mean," Draco said. 

" _And that's why it's important we do this fast, Draco_." Oliver's voice came into the phone again. 

"Uh..." Draco struggled for words for a moment, and he wasn't sure if it was because he was really confused now, or because of the way Harry was looking at him. If Harry wasn't just standing there, so close to him, and if he couldn't smell Harry's aftershave—reminding Draco of their time together—this would have been far less agonising. 

"Oliver," he said, trudging on, and looking away from Harry. Annoyed. "What about the fact we were in a legal conflict with Potter Industries, and whatever you—they need me to do—would this be—" 

" _Our negotiations with the company settled when they willingly paid Marketing Malfoy's for the suit. Now, it's our turn to help them. They lost business too, Draco. They paid you off, and now all you have to do is sign an affidavit that states Gregory Goyle told you Smith was working with them. That's why he wanted you to join their team, Draco, because then they would force you into signing a confidentiality_ —" 

"I'd rather die than join forces with Gregory Goyle," Draco snapped. 

" _I'd thought so..._ " Oliver said, chuckling.

"Besides, he did more than tell me Smith's on the payroll. He admitted they stole my ideas _because_ they wanted me to join the team..." Draco paused for a minute and turned to look at Harry. He's flying to Buenos Aires next Friday. He might even take Smith with him." 

" _Draco, I'm going to need you to come in on Monday, I know this cuts into your hol_ —" 

"Monday. In London?" Draco asked, surprised. "I have to be there? Can't you DHL the documents to Barcelona?" 

"They'll need a proper statement. I'm sorry, Draco, but if you want to—" 

"That's fine," Draco said, resigned. "I'll have to use the weekend with Scor— Yeah, that's fine." 

"Thank you, Mr Malfoy," Granger cut into the call again, and Draco had nearly forgotten she was listening in. "Do you mind if I talk to Harry—" 

Draco handed the mobile to Harry. He was done talking. He needed to get back to the house and speak to Astoria. All he thought about now was how disappointed Scorpius would be to find out he was leaving so soon. _He_ was disappointed with the news, as well. 

"Hold on..." 

Draco heard Harry say and then placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Draco..." Draco turned to look at him, and Harry looked as though he were struggling for the words. In the end, all he said was, "Thank you." 

"It's business," he said before nodding curtly, and then walking out of the hotel.

*-*-*-*

Astoria was sitting by the fireplace when Draco arrived home. She quickly put down her book and perked up at seeing him. 

"Back so soon?" she asked. 

"So soon?" he replied. He felt like he'd been gone for hours. 

"Yeah. After your meeting, I thought you might sneak off into Potter's hotel room and have a rendezvous," she teased. "What happened? There was no lovers' reunion?" 

"More like a lovers' quarrel," Draco said. The idea of going to Harry's room hadn't even occurred to him. He was far too exhausted by everything that'd just happened. Everything he'd just put through. 

"Goyle is the reason we lost the marketing contract to Potter's—Harry's company. And Harry's in Barcelona because he was looking to meet with Goyle," Draco said with a resigned sigh as he crash on the chair across from Astoria. 

When Astoria gave him a confused look, Draco explained everything. 

"So you'll have to find a flight out of here on Sunday evening?" she asked after staying quiet for a long time. 

"Yeah, I need a drink," Draco said. He would have gotten up and made one for himself but Astoria beat him to it. She quickly went to the mini-bar and fixed them two strong whiskies. 

"Are you worried about Scorpius?" she asked, reading him easily. 

"I just don't want him to think—" 

"Hey," she said, as he reached over and grabbed Draco's hand. He welcomed her touch, it wasn't anything like Goyle's. Then he remembered how Harry had reacted and seeing Draco and Goyle holding hands. The memory brought a smile on his face. 

Astoria smiled with him. 

"Scorpius is a good boy. He'll understand. I also know that in no time, you're going to come back and visit us. Next time, maybe you'll bring Narcissa. I know she'd love that." 

"She would," Draco said, nodding. 

"It's okay, Draco. I think you've done enough hiding out here. So much so, that the universe is giving you a sign that you need to go back to your life. Go back to Harry." 

"But—" 

"Don't be so afraid, Draco," she said, and she'd come up in front of Draco on her knees, placing a hand on his heart. "We're in here with you. But you need to make room for other people—not just your family. I saw the way Harry looked at you. The way you looked at him. There's more there. You need to—you need to go to him." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Tonight," Astoria said calmly. "I know you. You won't sleep all night. You'll be wondering if you'd done something, said something more to him. So I suggest that you take the time and think about it. If you want to see him. You should. Come back in the morning because Scorpius is already sleeping and you can't break the news to him now. We'll have breakfast and tell him that you're leaving. And that you'll be back—soon." 

"I will, I promise," Draco said. 

"I know. And I believe you. Scorpius will believe you. And in the meantime, we have email, video messaging, skype..." 

As Draco settled back in his chair, and Astoria returned to her seat, he was starting to feel better. Yeah, it'd be okay. Scorpius wouldn't be happy that he was leaving, but if he had to prove it, Draco would buy a return ticket just to prove to Scorpius that he'd be back. 

Heck, he'd even move here and work remotely if he had to. But, of course, that wouldn't be any time soon. All he knew now was that Scorpius was going to become his top priority. He was going to be present for his son, no matter what.

*-*-*-*

An hour later, Draco found himself in a car, parked in front of the entrance of the Mandarin Oriental. He had Harry's card in his pocket. His hotel room number was written on it. 

"Shall I wait for you here, Mr Malfoy?" the driver asked Draco as he told him that he was _finally_ ready to get out of the car. 

"No. I'll just call for you in the morning," Draco said. "Or maybe later tonight. I've no idea." 

"Very well, sir," the driver said and smiled. 

A moment after that, Draco left the car, and walked back into the hotel.


	13. Chapter 13

"Hi!" Harry said with surprise, his Bluetooth in his ear and his pyjama bottoms hanging low on his hips. "I...uh...I gotta go." He pressed the button on the Bluetooth and took it out of his ear. 

All the while, Draco stood by the door, trying not to gape. 

He wasn't sure what exactly he'd expected when he knocked on the door to Harry's hotel room but a nearly naked man was not it. Maybe because it'd been a while since they'd been close together, or maybe just because it was Harry, Draco's cock stirred in his trousers. 

He wasn't even going to be able to last five minutes if he kept that up. Or rather, or if _it_ kept that up. 

"I'm sorry. I thought you were room service," Harry said, getting out of the way and gesturing for Draco to enter. "I just got out of my clothes and—" 

"You answer for room service naked?" Draco asked, amused. 

Harry laughed softly and _that_ gave Draco butterflies. Bloody hell, he was a grown man, why was he getting butterflies?

"I've been on Skype non-stop. Negotiations and all that. I barely had a time to take a shower and call for some food when my mobile rang and then — Sorry, you're probably not interested..." Harry paused to run a hand through his hair and Draco knew what that meant. It was a reminder of how they'd been together before. 

Harry's comment on 'you're probably not interested' was code for 'it's business and private'. Draco had to give him that. He was good at keeping business and personal separated.

"Negotiations?" Draco asked, sounding interested. He was going to be okay discussing business, as long as they didn't have to talk about why he was there exactly. 

"I—Just something in the works. I can't talk about it. You know how that goes..." Harry said smiling. "Shit, it's good to see you." 

He closed the door behind him and took a step towards Draco. Draco instinctively took a step back, but then stopped himself. So his foot just hung in the air for a few awkward seconds before he stood his ground.

"Sorry..." Harry said. "I just..." 

Draco grabbed Harry by the back of his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. If things between them got any more awkward, Draco was going to punch something.

"I was hoping you'd do that," Harry said after they pulled apart but Draco kept his hand on Harry's neck, touching his skin, stroking gently. "I've missed you." 

Harry nuzzled in Draco's neck and pulled him close. They stood there in the room, holding each other, as if they were some long lost lovers that'd finally been reunited. Maybe it was Draco who felt like that—even if that was completely bizarre. 

"It was difficult seeing you today," Draco admitted when they finally broke apart and Draco took a step back. He wanted to be able to look at Harry; take him all in. "And I've missed you, too." 

"In the morning? With Astoria?" Harry asked, looking slightly confused and then his expression changed. "You two aren't—" 

"No, nothing like that," Draco said. "She's a friend. A good friend, at that. She's the one who told me to come by and see you." 

"Even if it was already difficult?" Harry asked, grinning. 

"Yeah. She made me realise what I wanted." Harry didn't reply; he continued to look at Draco expectantly. "I was upset before. Hurt. Even if I knew it wasn't your fault. Just with everything—" 

"I know, and I'm so sorry about that." 

"Sure," Draco said, nodding. "I shouldn't have treated you like that. And I'm happy to help in any way I can. Just that—" 

"Draco, you already know I'm in love with you. You don't have to try to convince me to do anything. I'm in. I've been in for ages without even realising it. It was more than just sex for me, you know. And I'd hoped it was for you too." 

Draco opened his mouth to respond but there was a knock at that door. _Room service_ , he thought . 

"Right. Sorry. I'll just—" 

"Can you put a shirt on?" Draco asked, the words escaping him before he even got a chance to know he'd said them. 

Harry chuckled slightly and reached into his suitcase. He put on a vintage black t-shirt with a cassette tape on it. He looked bloody sexy in it. The shirt fit him so well, all Draco could think about was taking it off him again. 

The room service bloke pushed in a small cart with steel plate covers and gave Draco an odd look. Draco had no idea what Harry had ordered from room service but whatever it was, it smelled incredible. It also became evident to him he was hungry. He had been running around with Astoria all day and they had only had a light lunch, then after the dealings with Goyle, and the attorneys on the phone, and then going home to talk it all over with Astoria, he'd not eaten anything in _hours_. 

"Cheers, mate," Harry said to the man as he handed a few bills to the man and all but pushed him out of the room. 

Draco was still standing around the room uncomfortably when Harry gestured to the sofa and the small table in the corner. 

"Do you want some wine?" Harry asked and Draco shrugged. 

As he sat, he watched Harry open a bottle of red and bring over two glasses to him. Then, he pushed the cart of food towards Draco and sat down next to him. 

"What did you order?" Draco asked casually, hoping his stomach didn't grumble with obvious interest. 

"They recommended this garlic chicken dish with rice, I didn't have much time to think it over. I was busy on my mobile reading emails." Harry grabbed for two forks and held the plate in between them. He sat facing Draco. "I hope you'll have some," he said. 

"It smells delicious," was all Draco said before he forked up some rice with the sauce. 

They ate in companionable silence, and it was strange how it didn't feel unusual. Draco had easily slipped back into his life—picked up exactly where they'd left off—as if all those weeks of anguish, pain, and betrayal and never happened. 

"This is nice," Harry said when they'd all but licked the plate off and he'd reached over for the small carrot cake. "Share this with me too?" 

"How are things in London?" Draco asked, taking a bite of the carrot cake, and then sipping the wine. 

Harry shifted on the sofa to get more comfortable and his knee bumped with Draco's. Draco didn't react to that so Harry rested it against Draco's knee. Draco wasn't sure if he should think it was weird at how easy this was. But then he reflected back to the first night he'd spent with Harry; it had been just as relaxed. Maybe it would just be like this for them. Maybe Harry just brought that out in people. 

"Same old. Just chasing after leads to put this whole Zacharias thing behind us. It was really a blow for the company and everyone involved. One of our own—cheating us out like that." 

"Well, your company doesn't seem to be suffering. I saw the stock for Potter and Friends actually went up under the new adverti—" 

"You've been keeping tabs on me?" Harry asked with an eyebrow quirked. 

Draco shrugged. "It's business. I read the papers. Watch the stock market. It's not something I didn't do before. How'd you think we'd decided to approach you the first time?" 

"Hmm..." Harry said, finishing the last piece of the cake and getting a bottle of water. "I don't know. I kind of like the idea of you knowing what we're doing." 

"Why?" Draco asked, chuckling lightly. 

Harry ran a hand through his hair again and looked nervous. "Makes me hope you forgave us. Me. For what happened. And—" 

"It's okay, Harry," Draco said, reaching down and placing a hand on Harry's knee. "I know it wasn't your fault. And now...what you're doing here in Barcelona.. It's obvious you're doing something about it. I mean, I'd like to think it isn't just the fact that Smith betrayed you and you're going after him. You're doing this for me too." 

"You get that?" Harry asked, looking slightly uplifted. 

"Well, is it? Are you doing this because you promised me—" 

"Yes!" Harry said raising his hands in his air as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You get it. Why don't they—" 

"Who's they?" 

"My friends. My business partners. They don't get it. I mean...there's so only so much I can explain...it's about my word. My promise to you and—I know you told me to stop saying it but yeah... I promised you _that_. And I'm going to deliver it." 

Draco smiled at him and squeezed Harry's knee. "You have a bit of a saving people thing, don't you?" 

"Ugh," Harry groaned with frustration, and it made Draco think perhaps this wasn't the first time someone had told him that. 

Harry started to stack all the plates together and placed them on the cart again. A few moments later, when he looked as though he'd calmed down, he returned to his seat next to Draco and sat beside him. This time, they weren't face to face anymore and Harry didn't leave any distance between them. 

Harry grabbed Draco's left hand with his right and laced their fingers together. He took a big gulp of wine, threw his head back against the back of the sofa, and closed his eyes. "I'm glad you're here." 

"Yeah?" Draco asked, finishing the last of his wine. He reached over put his glass on the table and as he settled back, he looked at Harry. Harry opened his eyes to look at Draco. It was obvious that he was _exhausted_. 

"I didn't mean to intrude on your evening," Draco said, brushing his thumb against Harry's lower lip. "Just when I saw you earlier today, and then later with Goyle..." 

"When I saw you this afternoon, Draco, it took every fibre of self-control for me not to cancel my meeting with Goyle. All I wanted to do was sit there and have you look at me like that." 

"Like what?" 

"I didn't want to be presumptuous, but the way you looked at me, I felt as if I wasn't crazy. You did care for me. Maybe even missed me. That's why I gave you my card. I don't want you to—" 

Whatever Harry was going to say was cut off when his mobile rang. "Fucking hell," he grumbled and gave Draco an apologetic look before letting go of his hand. He got up off the sofa to go and answer it. As he looked at the screen to see who was calling, Harry increased the distance between himself and Draco. He was all the way into the other corner of the room before he picked up. 

" _Hello._  
 _Oh hey, yeah. Did you get my email about—_  
 _Yes. But I can't—_

_Listen, I can't talk right now._   
_Draco is here. Yes. The same Draco Malfoy._   
_Here._

_No I'm not going to fuck it up._   
_For crying out l—_   
_I've gotta go. Okay? Stop calling me. And tell everyone to not disturb me for the night._   
_I'm going to turn it off._

_Fine. I'll see you—_  
 _Yeah. Yeah. Always did._ " 

As Harry turned, Draco grabbed for the wine bottle and started to pour. He did his best to pretend he hadn't just heard Harry's conversation. But he was sure it was obvious since he couldn't hide his smile. 

If Harry noticed, he didn't say anything. He made a gesture of turning his mobile off and placing it on the coffee table. "Wait..." 

"In case of emergencies?" 

"Yeah," Harry said and turned it back on again. 

Draco laughed. "I know exactly what you mean." 

Before he took another sip of his wine, Harry let out a yawn. 

"I shouldn't have disturbed you—" 

"No," Harry said, stern. "Don't say that. I'm glad you're here. I want you to be here." 

"We can see each other when we're back in London—" 

"No, Draco. Tell me you'll stay the night," Harry said, holding Draco's hand and edging himself closer. "I sound pathetic, don't I? I always did when it came to you." 

"You told... _people_ about us?" Draco ask, head nodding towards the mobile. 

"You've told Astoria," Harry said, but not in a defensive tone. "I mean, it makes sense if you'd told Neville and that one conversation with your Mum about it. But, you came here to _see_ Astoria—to get away from me—and—" 

"Who told you that?" 

"I figured as such. I tried your mobile for days. I called your office and your secretary nearly bit my head off..." Harry stopped when Draco started laughing. "I had to talk to Neville who told me to stop calling. And then I saw you today; on the streets of bloody _Barcelona_!" 

"And what? You want to try and give it a go then?" 

"Don't you?" Harry asked. 

Of course he did. He was stupid to have walked away from it in the first place. 

"Maybe. I don't know how it'll work out. I mean, aren't you scared?" Draco asked. 

Harry reached over and cupped Draco's face. He smiled in that Harry way that always got to Draco, and shook his head. "No. I'm not scared."

Before Draco to could respond, Harry pressed himself against Draco and kissed him. Draco was pushed back against the sofa, the wine glass still dangling in his hands when Harry started to grind their hips together.

Harry was all about climbing on top of him, unbuttoning Draco's shirt, pulling on the tie. "God, you're wearing too many clothes," he said and settled back on his haunches as he straddled Draco's lap. 

"Well, I didn't exactly have time to change into casuals before I thought about coming to see you. If I'd dwelt on it too much, I wouldn't have come altogether," Draco said, and handed his glass to Harry who finished the last of it and placed it on the table behind him. 

As Draco took his suit jacket and tie off, it seemed as though Harry had lost his patience. He started to work on Draco's belt and trousers. 

"Come on!" he whined. 

"Bloody hell, you're impatient," Draco teased, pushing Harry off him so he could calmly remove his clothes. "I still have to put these clothes back on when I leave toni—" 

"Say you'll spend the night," Harry said, visibly stifling another yawn. 

"You're knackered." 

"So? You'll have to sleep somewhere. Just sleep here with me," Harry said shrugging. 

Draco didn't reply. He'd never spent the night with Harry before. When he was nearly naked, in nothing but his pants, Harry pulled him on top. 

"Don't answer if you don't want to," he said, "just come here." 

He wrapped his legs around Draco's waist and held him tight. They were back to the kissing, and Draco smiled into the kiss, feeling how desperate and needy and hot Harry was for him. 

Harry's hands reached down to grab Draco's arse as he increased the friction between them. Draco felt like he was on fire. He'd gone on longer than this for a dry spell, but being with Harry again was something he'd missed so desperately. He hadn't allowed himself to think about how good it felt to be with him. How comforting his touches had been, even if at times they'd been nothing but desperate, and just to get them off. 

"God, Draco..." Harry arched up and Draco grabbed the elastic of Harry's trousers, pulling them down. He pulled down his own pants so they could be closer to each other. Any barrier in between them was proving to be too much. He pushed up Harry's shirt to bend down and kiss his stomach, making his way up to Harry's left nipple and gently biting it. 

Harry shivered underneath him, and moved to remove his t-shirt before his hands were back on Draco's arse. Draco grabbed their erections in one hand and started to stroke. He thought it weird that they were in a huge hotel suite and yet they were doing this on a small sofa in the corner. Harry's king sized bed lay unoccupied, but Draco knew he couldn't move. He needed to have Harry and he wasn't going to waste any more time. 

Harry came quietly, biting down on his lower lip, fucking Draco's hand. Draco wasn't far behind and he would have been satisfied with Harry's hand on him, but Harry surprised him by pushing him against the back of the sofa again and sliding down to his knees. 

He took Draco in his mouth, remnants of his own come still on Draco's cock, and swirled his tongue around. "God, you're..." Draco moaned and then involuntarily shared, "Fuck, I have missed you..." 

Harry stopped what he was doing and looked up at Draco. He smiled with Draco's cock still comfortable down his throat and returned to his task. 

It didn't take Draco long to give in and he grabbed Harry's hair; sweat glistened down the back of Harry's neck as Draco set the rhythm, then held Harry tight against him as he spilled himself on Harry's tongue. Harry took his time licking and sucking Draco dry and as he was finished, Draco felt every single muscle in his body relax, and he was ready to crash right there. 

"Come to bed," Harry said, pulling gently on Draco's arm and Draco allowed himself to be led away. 

He was settled in the bed, comforters around him, when Harry whispered, "I'll be right back." 

Draco watched as Harry went into the bathroom. He didn't close the door, so Draco watched as Harry took out his contact lenses and washed his face. When he returned to bed, he was wearing glasses that he took off and placed on the side-table. 

"I'd almost forgotten about your glasses," Draco lied; every time he'd fantasised about Harry, it was in his business suit and glasses. Sometimes it was in the motorcycle gear, but that was rare.

Harry had settled himself next to Draco and propped himself up on his elbow with his hand under his head. He watched Draco intently. "That's too bad," he said. "Because I remember every curve of your face and every twist of your body." He traced his finger down Draco's chest and then leaned down to kiss on Draco's shoulder. 

Draco took a hold of Harry's hand and kissed his fingers. He released a satisfied moan and turned as Harry held him from behind and they both fell asleep.

-*-*-

When Draco woke up the next day, he was on his stomach with Harry all but pinned underneath him. 

He opened his eyes to see Harry looking up at him and smiling. 

"Nice sleep?" Harry asked. 

Draco nodded and got up off Harry. "Yeah. You?" 

"Best I've had in a while," Harry said with a smile and they looked at each other, lying on their sides. "I'm glad you came by." 

"Me too. I'm glad we ran into each other at Passeig de Gràcia— as unexpected as it was." 

"Yeah. When I told Hermione I'd seen you, she said if I hadn't given you my card to try to get in touch with me again, she would have had my head." 

"Hermione? Your solicitor?" Draco asked. 

"She's also my best friend," Harry said. "She was the one who called last night. She knows how mad I've been over you. If you weren't so hard to get a hold of, she would have been more than willing to find you and scream at you for—" 

"Scream at me? What did _I_ do?"

Harry shrugged. "She has a bit of a habit of seeing right through people. That's why she makes a damned good lawyer. Anyway, she knew I liked you, and she was _sure_ you felt the same way—even if I wasn’t and— Well, she thinks she can just yell at everyone and make them do her bidding." 

"That's an interesting way to live your life," Draco said. 

"Well, you don't know Hermione," Harry said. 

"I get the feeling I'm going to meet her soon," Draco said, relaxing on his back as he stared at the ceiling. 

"Is that all right? With us being a thing and all..." Harry paused and Draco turned his head to look at him. "I mean, that's still happening, isn't it?" 

Draco quirked an eyebrow and looked at Harry. "I still can't get over how insecure you can be. I mean, when you were in the bloody interview, you were so fucking stoic, and that encounter with Goyle...and here you are. Who would've thought?" 

"You're not answering the question." 

Draco rolled his eyes and pulled Harry close to him. "Yeah. We're making a go of it or something. It'll have to be slow though, because I need to catch up on work when I get back and—" 

"I know... I might end up taking a trip to Argentina for fuck sake." 

"You're going to do that? Chase him all over the globe?" 

"No...I won't. I have _other_ plans too," Harry said, sounding slightly reluctant. 

"Other plans?" Draco asked, curious, then added, "let me guess I'm probably not interested." 

"I—" Harry paused, looking as if he were struggling for words. "I'll tell you soon. I promise. Just with all those non-disclosures..." 

"I know," Draco said, squeezing Harry's shoulder and then rolling over so he could stand up. "I've gotta go. I need to have breakfast with— I've got a plane to catch. Well, a flight to book, and then a plane to catch." 

"Oh?" Harry said, visibly disappointed. "I was hoping _we_ could have breakfast together." 

"Sorry. I just...I've other plans." 

"With Astoria?" Harry asked, and there was a look in his eyes Draco had only seen once before. It was from the night before when Harry had seen Draco and Goyle holding hands. _So that's what he looks like when he's jealous_. 

"Yeah. But it's complicated. I'll...I promise to tell you all about it soon. Okay? Just...slow steps." 

"You don't trust me," Harry said, and his tone was light, as if he were simply reminding himself of the fact. 

"Hey..." Draco closed the distance between them and cupped Harry's face, "it's not that easy. And you know that. But, I'd like to see you in London. As soon as possible." 

Harry leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. Draco smiled for a brief moment before he leaned down and captured Harry's lips. The kiss was soft, promising, and it made Draco's heart flutter. Like he were seventeen years old. 

"So you're like my boyfriend now," Harry said and Draco laughed. Evidently, Harry _was_ a seventeen year old. 

"Going steady and everything, I reckon." 

Harry shook his head looking annoyed. "I'll call you as soon as I'm there. I've got to fly out of here for a business meeting and then I'll be in London in a few days." 

"Very well. I'll see you then," Draco said and started to get dressed.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, did you miss me? 
> 
> Also, more angst.

"When do you come back?" Scorpius's wide eyes pierced through Draco's skin and right at his heart. He had been worried the boy was going to cry, but he supposed Scorpius was a true Malfoy because he asked questions and didn't show his emotions. 

Draco looked at Astoria who was beaming with pride. He supposed she was happy her son was taking the news so well. Scorpius was a lot stronger than any of his parents gave him credit for. 

"As soon as I can," Draco answered honestly, "but I can't tell you exactly when. When I go back to work, I don't know how much I have to do. So I'm not certain if it'll be in two weeks or two months." 

"What if it's more than two months?" Scorpius asked with all the seriousness in the world, and his hand was gripping his fork so tightly, Draco was worried the boy was going to bend it in two. 

"Tell you what," Astoria said before Draco could answer Scorpius. 

"We'll make a note of two months on our calendar, and if Draco isn't back in that time, we'll take a short holiday to London to go and see him? What do you think about that?" 

"What about school?" 

"I'm sure they can spare you for a quick weekend," Draco said, earning a smile from Astoria, along with a sceptical look from Scorpius. He truly was the best and the worst version of the both of them. 

"If you promise," Scorpius said, cautiously, looking at both his parents." Promise we'll see each other in two months." 

"I promise, Son." The words escaped Draco's mouth before he could have stopped himself. A sheer sort of panic went through him and he looked at Astoria helplessly. His father used to make promises all the time and often broke them, and on top of that, he had just acknowledged Scorpius as his son. 

Scorpius didn't seem bothered by it at all; as if he had not even realised what Draco had said. 

"Fine. But if you don't come to visit me, I won't talk to you, ever. Mum used to make promises all the time…"

Draco looked at Astoria who looked worried, and then Draco realised Scorpius was talking about Pansy, and not Astoria. Shit, he was sure he could do so much better than Pansy as a parent, any day. 

"That won't happen, Scorpius," Draco assured him. His heart was breaking that morning, he didn't want to leave Scorpius and Astoria, but he needed to do the right thing. He needed to do the right thing by Harry. 

His Harry. 

"I love you more than anything in the world, Scorpius," Draco said softly and Scorpius was off his seat and in Draco's arms in no time, and they were all far too emotional that would simply insult the Malfoy name, and Draco didn't care. 

He had the best thing in the world in his arms, and an equally important thing in the world waiting in London for him.

-*-*-

The next day when Draco was back in the office at Marketing Malfoy's, the paperwork Hermione Granger and Oliver Wood had told him about was waiting for him. Neville had already talked to Oliver and was up to speed with everything but what he found most interesting was how he and Harry had ended up at the same place at the same time. 

"Hannah thinks it's fate," Neville teased him, still, looking relieved Draco had reconnected with Harry. 

"Of course, she does. She's the type to think of such a thing," Draco said, rolling his eyes, and doing his best to hide the grin from his face. Yes, he and Harry had _reconnected_ and it was the best fucking thing in the world. 

"Hopefully, they'll find Smith and then you and Harry can ride off into the sunset," Neville said. 

Draco shook his head." Even if it's good right now—"

"Don't. Don't do that. You know I hate it when you do that," Neville said. 

"Do what?" Draco asked, confused. 

"You're already trying to find ways for it to not work about between you and Harry? Why don't you try to live a little, Draco? I know things with your father were never smooth but it doesn't mean every man in your life is going to screw you over? I mean, I haven't, and well…Harry's company sort of did, but he's making up for it, you know? I mean, do you honestly think he's doing this for his _reputation_? He's doing it for you. And you should be glad someone out there thinks you're worth it. Maybe you should start thinking it too." 

Draco smiled at his friend who seemed to have so much confidence in him, especially about Draco, and nodded." You're right. It's nice to be wanted and I shouldn't try to ruin it." 

Neville looked as though he'd won a battle and left a few files at Draco's desk, obviously to keep him busy, and left. 

Without a second thought to anything, Draco returned to work. It wasn't until his phone chimed, was when his stomach grumbled. He quickly checked his text message before emailing a lunch order to his assistant. 

_Harry: Busy tonight?_

_Draco: Are you in town?_ Draco perked up at the possibility of seeing Harry again and so soon. He had no idea when he had so hard for the man but he knew, there was no going back now. 

_Harry: I wish. But I thought we could talk on the phone later._

_Draco: Oh yeah? Talk about what?_

_Harry: How much I miss your cock in my mouth. How good it feels in my hand._

_Draco: Where are you right now?_

_Harry: Edinburgh. Taking care of some business._

_Draco: And what about Z. Smith?_

_Harry: It's being taken care of as well._

_Draco: Ha. You sound like you're in the mafia. Is this something I should be scared of?_

_Harry: No. Just…I told you I'd fix it. It's what I'm doing. It was my promise._

_Draco: You don't have to do this anymore. You don't have to prove anything. You have me._

_Harry: I'm glad to know I have you. But I'm doing this so everyone will know not to mess with Potter's Inc, or Marketing Malfoy's for that matter._

_Draco: Now you definitely sound like you're the mafia._

_Harry: If that makes you hot for me… I could live with that._

_Draco: Everything is business or pleasure, isn't it?_

_Harry: You have me figured out. What can I say? I find that hot in a man._

_Draco: I miss you._

Harry's response took a bit longer this time and Draco almost panicked. Had he said too much? Had Harry changed his mind? 

_Harry: I wanted to reply with something so full of confidence or suave but I came up with nothing. You almost always leave me speechless. In any case, what I'm trying to say is I miss you terribly. We never got on the right foot about this whole dating thing. Maybe we can start fresh again? Let me take you out on a proper date. Ask you all sorts of personal questions and make things super awkward before you have to shut me up by kissing me and then drag me to your bedroom and have your way with me._

_Draco: That sounds incredible. When CAN I see you again?_

_Harry: Soon. I've got to run but can we talk later? If that's possible?_

_Draco: Are you thinking phone sex? Or is that only me?_

_Harry: Oh, I'd def. thinking phone sex._

-*-*-

After his text message exchange with Harry, all Draco wanted to do was go home and prepare himself for the phone call. If it was was phone sex Harry wanted, it was phone sex he was going to get. It'd been a while since Draco had done something so crazy bizarre; he wasn't some nineteen year old kid anymore. 

At the end of his work day a Draco was getting ready to leave, Neville caught up with him again. 

"Did you read the news?" Neville asked, raising up his iPhone. 

Draco shook his head, "I've been working," he said, and wanted to add, _trying not to think about Harry_. 

"There's a small blurb in _Financial Times_ about how _Nott your average toys_ has been bought over. There was a Board vote and they all but kicked Theodore Nott out as CEO." 

"How did that even come to be? Theodore owns the company. I mean it's his bloody name…" 

"I don't know all the details," Neville replied, looking at his screen again, "but Hannah said she's going to contact her resources up in Glasgow and find out what's what. There's a rumour Nott might stay on as CEO but he won't be the majority shareholder. Some other company basically did a corporate takeover over-night." 

"You don't think…I mean, it can't be…?" Draco was too afraid to say the words. If it was Potter Industries, what _were_ they thinking?

"We'll have to see…" Neville looked pensive." You'll have to call up your boyfriend and find out." 

" _My boyfriend?_ " The words were still quite strange to fathom. Harry Potter was Draco's boyfriend. 

"What would I ask? _Hey, did you manage to throw the company that screwed me over into a total mess so you can prove you love me?_." Draco laughed a humourless laugh, almost mocking himself. Harry was good, but no one was _that_ good. 

He took in a deep breath trying to calm himself. 

"Besides, I think he's worrying about getting Smith in…" 

"If Harry's taken over Nott's, then, he wouldn't have to worry about Smith anymore. He'd own the company through and through, and he could easily screw over Smith without getting legal in the mess." 

"Then why would his attorneys, and my attorneys ask me to come back to London to send over this paperwork that's probably now worthless?" 

Neville shrugged. Maybe to get you back in London so Harry can call on you whenever he pleases…or maybe this was their back up plan? I mean, doing a corporate takeover isn't easy. You have to go after the Board members, especially the ones who aren't happy with Nott, and offer them a sweet deal before they all call an emergency meeting…" 

"But that's _so_ much work." 

Neville smiled at Draco as if he were the most innocent thing in the world." Just because you've been on holiday in Spain for days, DRaco, doesn't mean the rest of the world had stopped working. And you told me every time you saw Harry he was on the phone. What do you think he'd be doing if not _this_? I mean, I'm not saying he's behind this but timing's everything, isn't it? You told me it was the first rule in PR and advertising." 

Draco scowled. He was sure he was showing his sour mood but everything inside him was twisting. Harry had said he'd wanted to be together. Did being with Harry mean Draco would forever be indebted to him?

 _Business and pleasure_ , wasn't that Harry's motto to live by? 

Did he expect Draco to come running every time Harry snapped his fingers. Worst of all, Draco had to question—was running into Harry in Barcelona, really a coincidence? Or was it all part of his plan? 

Suddenly, the idea of going home and waiting for Harry's phone call was no longer something that excited Draco. If anything, he was starting to dread it. Was it possible he'd fallen for a master manipulator with devastating charisma? 

Feeling like the biggest fool ever, he shot a quick message to Harry on his mobile, asking him to reschedule; and when Harry's response had come in, Draco didn't answer it. Maybe he was running away, and maybe he was being a coward in that moment. But he knew, what he knew: if it didn't smell right, you walked away from it. 

He'd not even been back for so long but Draco was starting to miss Astoria and Scorpius. Life was so much simpler when he was there with them. His family. Without even giving it a second thought, Draco called up his mother, and made dinner plans.

-*-*-

Ignoring his problems was only going to take him so far. For a few days, Draco did his best to ignore Harry's text messages. His response had been mostly one or two word messages, or simply saying, " _in a meeting, can I get back to you?_ " 

In hindsight, he should have expected what happened next. 

Millicent walked in nervously and gave Draco a wide-eyed look. 

"What is it?" 

"You have a visitor. I've told him you're busy all day since it is what you had told me to say if _he_ rang, but…"

"Harry? Harry's here…" Draco said, surprised, but managing to keep his tone calm. His hands were balled up into fists under his desk so Millicent couldn't see. 

"I woulda given him my usual attitude, Boss, but I know…I mean… _Draco_!" 

They stared at each other for a few seconds and Draco wasn't going to give her anything. She could assume whatever she wanted but Draco had been in the business long enough to never give the other party any information you didn't want them to have. 

"He looks terrible," she said. 

"Show him in," Draco said." No wait, actually, can you bring him into Conference Room B instead?" 

Millicent nodded, her feisty self surfacing back up again." I'll have Todd walk him around the offices and finally take him into Conf B." 

"Brilliant!" Draco said cheekily which earned him a sly grin from his assistant." Even if this whole thing tanks, promise me you'll always be by my side?" 

Millicent shrugged." Well, as long as you don't expect me to be on my knees—" 

"Millie!" Draco nearly shrieked. 

"Just kidding, Boss," she said and turned around on her heels and walked out of Draco's office. 

Draco would have laughed at their banter but he was far too stressed about this unexpected surprise. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He hoped Harry wouldn't have more and more excuses for him and in the end, he wouldn't simply fall for all of them. 

Was he actually in love with Harry? He didn't know. But did the idea of Harry make his heart beat faster? Yes. Draco knew that even if from now on they never engaged in any sexual activity, he'd still hold a candle for the man, and he couldn't even tell anyone why. Harry was everything he'd ever wanted. He was smart, confident, and kind. Even when they'd fought on opposite sides of a legal battle, Harry had made sure Draco and his company received the compensation they had deserved. He was also quite certain Harry wasn't simply doing that for him. 

He would have done that for anyone. 

Draco was special, but ordinary all the same.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry finally tells Draco the truth and Draco finally lets his guard down. 
> 
> AKA, THE END.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for always staying with this story and pushing me to finish it.

Draco entered the conference room, expecting to see Harry, but was surprised to see another man standing next to him. His surprise must have showed easily on his face when Harry stepped forward to do the introductions. 

"Draco, this is my attorney, Ron Weasley. And my friend." 

Weasley. He scowled at Draco, and it was similar to the one the twins had given him, but also slightly different. It was as if he knew more and didn't like Draco one bit. 

_Oh well._

"Is there a legal matter to discuss?" Draco asked casually, closing the conference room door behind him. "Would you like to sit down? I can get Millie to get us some tea?" 

"No, I won't be staying long," Weasley said and Draco thought he was going to say more but Harry touched his shoulder and the man shut up. 

Draco watched Harry's hand resting on Weasley's shoulder, his fingers squeezed him gently, and something inside Draco riled up. He hated how jealous and possessive he was getting. God, Draco wanted to, no _needed_ to break up with the man, not stake his claim on him. 

"Very well, do you mind if I sit?" Draco asked, pulling out a chair and sitting across from the two standing men. 

Harry cleared his throat and began speaking. "There was a brief press release in the papers about the corporate takeover from Potter Industries, which has now acquired Nott Your Average Toys…" he said, pausing briefly, as if to gauge Draco's reaction. 

"Yes, Neville informed me," replied Draco. 

"Right. See, I wanted to talk to you on the phone and explain the situation before you—" 

Before Harry could finish, Weasley interrupted him. "This is the legal documentation detailing the takeover. Many are calling it a 'hostile takeover' and there might be some legal ramifications if any of the Board members try to get out of the deal." 

Draco looked at both Harry and Weasley completely confused. What did any of this have to do with him? 

"I—" 

"The paperwork discusses you— as in the staff of Marketing Malfoy's— were not aware of this decision by Potter Industries, and any actions taken from now on, is by your knowledge and legal consent." 

"I'm afraid I don't understand." 

"Draco…" 

"Mr Malfoy…" 

Both Harry and Weasley spoke at the same time and then looked at each other. 

"This is why Hermione does the in-person consultations," Weasley said chuckling and Harry smiled warmly at him. 

The jealous dragon inside Draco started to rise up again. "Can you explain what's going on here?" Draco asked, annoyed. 

"I'll go and talk to Neville," Weasley said and Harry nodded. "It's almost the end of the day and I'll catch him before he leaves. You can handle things here with your boyfriend." 

"I'm not his boyfriend," Draco snapped, the words leaving him before he even knew what he was saying. _Bloody hell_. And then Harry had his attention; he looked crushed almost causing Draco to get up and go to him. 

"Oh, I thought you said—" Weasley started to say but he looked at Harry and his face immediately turned red. "I'm leaving, because, yeah. I can't handle my nerves right now. This, you did all of this for _him_ and…" 

"Ron…" Harry spoke so softly, Draco had barely heard him. "It's a misunderstanding." 

"Right," Weasley said, he grabbed his folders, leaving one on the table with Harry, and stormed out. 

"Weasleys never liked the Malfoys," Draco said, rolling his eyes. 

"Not my boyfriend?" Harry asked; he seemed to have his composure back. 

"I don't know what's going on. And honestly? I have no idea if I can even trust you. I know everything was all business, and you were quite secretive about it, but a hostile takeover? For what? To prove something to Nott? To prove it to me? You thought I was going to be impressed because you took over my old friend's company and kicked him out?" 

"No," Harry said, coming up to Draco, and sitting on the chair next to him. "Will you listen to me? Please?" 

Harry's pleading was so earnest it almost broke Draco's heart. His fingers twitched and he nearly reached over to grab Harry's hand but stopped. He was madly in love with Harry too, maybe he'd not admitted it to Harry, but he was hopeless. If they actually broke up, before they even began, Draco didn't know how long it'd take him to get over Harry and their five-second relationship. 

"You've been doing this since the day we met," Harry said and waited for Draco to reply. When Draco didn't say anything, he sighed and continued talking. "From day one you found out who I was and you didn't want to give it a try. I had to keep pushing and pushing and you never backed down, and you kept giving me all the while saying how you didn't want this. I thought things were going to be different after Barcelona but— I don't know what I can do to earn your trust. I don't know your past, and maybe that was the problem. Maybe you had terrible relationships, or maybe you can't trust people easily… I should've tried that first. I mean, I should've got to know you more. But, you know I love you. I've said it so many times and this—" 

"The takeover? A hostile takeover means you went behind the CEO's back and became the major shareholder so you can kick the board off or manipulate the situation for—" 

"For you," said Harry. "I mean, sure, it's a business deal but what happened to you wasn't fair. What The Goyle Group did wasn't fair. I told you, I was doing it s—" 

"You're doing it because you said you'd fix it. It's for me?" Draco let out a breath of disbelief. 

"So people can know you cannot steal from Potter Industries and get away with it. Or Marketing Malfoy's has our support. They stole from you too. Theodore Nott wasn't kicked out of his own company, Draco. Potter's merging with Nott. He was offered a very lucrative and beneficial package to remain on the team and still be CEO. Among all the line items of the deal, there was only one mandatory item. Well two, depending on how you looked at it." 

"What?" Draco asked, unable to tame his curiosity. He also didn't know how and when it happened but he was now face-to-face with Harry with their knees touching. 

Harry gave him a brilliant smile, and this time, Draco didn't stop himself. He reached over and twined his fingers with Harry's. Harry looked relieved and started to speak again. "That they get rid of The Goyle Group." 

"What?" Draco asked, surprised. Was Harry being serious? 

"And they hire your team. I explained to Nott what'd actually happened with their advertising contract with The Goyle Group, and he couldn't believe it. He'd loved the original idea, and he said he should have known Goyle couldn't come up with something so clever. They were thinking of sacking them and were looking elsewhere, and now, it's yours. If you want it. That is." 

There was a knock on the glass window of the Conference Room, and Neville came rushing in. "Hey, so I've gotta run and pick up Frank from Nursery School, but, let's talk tomorrow, yeah?"

"Of course. Call me later if you need me—" 

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you'll be busy. Harry, Ron's left. He figured you'd be staying? Or wouldn't need a lift?" 

"Thanks, mate. Let's do lunch soon and we can celebrate properly." Harry was still holding Draco's hand and he squeezed it gently. Draco struggled with hiding the grin on his face. Suddenly, his solemn day was starting to look better and better. 

"Sounds great!" Neville said and scurried off. 

"So," Harry said with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair; his leg hooking with Draco's. 

"So?" Draco asked. 

"Do you want to look over the hiring contract or discuss any details about—" Harry stopped talking when he saw Draco shaking his head. "What is it?" 

"When I was young and my father was struggling with the finances to restart his PR business again, we had to sell our family house and shift into something smaller…" 

"Okay…" Harry said, inquisitive. 

"There was this old tree in the yard, and it'd been there for _ages_. Something like 200 years or something…" Draco said and Harry looked confused but Draco continued. "My father had the tree cut down and when he opened the new office, he had his working desk made out of that wood. It was part of the Malfoy Legacy, he'd said." 

"Yeah?" Harry asked, smiling. 

"It's the only thing of my father's I have brought with me to my office. It's here in my office…" Draco drawled as he saw his coworkers and subordinates walking out with their bags and laptops under their arm. Everyone was rushing to beat the traffic going home. 

"Do you want to show me it or something?" Harry looked at Draco's employees, smiled at them, and then looked back at Draco. 

"I was wondering…" Draco paused again, feeling a bit nervous all of a sudden. "I was wondering if you'd let me fuck you on it." 

Harry let out a surprise laugh and stood up straight. That smile, and that laugh was something Draco found himself being quite fond of. He caught himself thinking he could spend his days listening to Harry laugh. 

"Does this mean you forgive me for all the secrecy? I couldn't tell you what I was doing. Not just due to legal actions but I wanted to surprise you. I mean, I wasn't terribly sure of it before, and we were going after Smith but when I saw you in Barcelona and our time together— I knew I had to do this. I wanted to show you maybe I'm not the best at dating or relationships; I could do this. I could take care of you." 

Draco opened his mouth to say something but Harry cut him off. 

"I know you don't need to be taken care of. But this was for me just as much as it's a gift for you. I've come to _need_ you, Draco. I can't explain it and I want to spend all my time getting to know you. I want to know everything about you. I want us to go on long motorcycle rides, and I want to read the paper in bed with you on Sundays and… shit, I'm rambling again. I said I was awful at dating, now I'm awful at confessions, as well." 

"You're perfect," said Draco. He pulled on Harry's hand and they both stood up and Draco led him out of the conference room and towards his office. 

When they entered Draco's office, Draco hung the "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on his door, just in case there was someone working later, and locked the door. 

Harry stood in the middle of the room looking at everything, and when Draco approached him from behind, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist, he could tell Harry was shaking. 

"This doesn't mean I've forgiven you for all the secrecy," Draco said and Harry turned around to look at him. "This is my way of saying, I've come to need you too, and I don't want to have any more secrets. I hate secrets." 

Harry nodded, edging himself closer to Draco. He nuzzled his nose in the crook of Draco's neck and then took in a deep breath. "I've missed your scent." 

Draco started to walk with Harry with Harry walking backwards and stopped when the back of Harry's legs hit the desk. He sat on the edge as Draco knelt down to his knees. With his hands on Harry's belt, Draco looked up and smiled. "May I?" he asked and Harry nodded.

He removed Harry's belt first, and then his hands moved down massaging Harry's thighs, his legs, his calves, and then they reached Harry's shoes Draco removed painfully slowly. Even though they were in Draco's office, Draco wanted to take his time with Harry. 

Everything that'd happened in the last half hour had been nothing short of astonishing, and Draco had to take his time because he wanted to process it all. He wanted to process it with Harry there with him. He didn't want to be an idiot anymore. Perhaps Harry had been right on the money with calling Draco's insecurities out. As much as he'd wanted Harry, he'd never been the one to commit, and Harry was the one who'd offered his heart on a platter, over and over again. 

With everything removed from the waist down, Draco leaned closer and took Harry in his mouth. Harry hissed with pleasure as Draco swirled his tongue around Harry's cock and moaned. He needed to show Harry he could take care of Harry too. Maybe he wasn't the one in any sort of position right now to be of any professional assistance, but he could give him pleasure. The second equally important thing for Harry. 

"Oh, Draco…" Harry moaned, his fingers coming down to sift through Draco's hair and he tugged on Draco's locks lightly, almost setting the rhythm for him. There was something in his voice though, something Draco couldn't immediately identify, but Draco didn't wish to stop. Not until Harry was spent in his mouth, and they could both be satisfied. 

"I'm so fucking close…" Harry said in a hoarse voice and Draco let go of Harry's cock with a pop, causing Harry to whine. 

"Lay back," Draco said, his voice also rasping. "Please." 

As Harry rested on the antique wooden table, Draco used his right hand to unbutton Harry's shirt and gently stroked Harry's cock with his left. 

"Draco…" Harry whispered, he had taken his glasses off and had turned his head to the side. Draco saw a single tear escaping Harry's eye and he was so fucking vulnerable then, all Draco wanted to do was take him home, get into bed with him, and hold Harry. Maybe also apologise for being such a coward for all those months. 

"I know, I'm sorry," Draco said, leaning down to kiss Harry's cheek. "I've been a right arsehole for all of my actions. I should've talked to you, I should have asked, and not made my own idiotic assumptions. I should have been able to trust you. But, I didn't even trust myself, love." 

Harry turned his head to look at Draco. 

"Can you forgive me? Can you trust me?" Draco asked gently. He kissed Harry's lips with a type of tenderness he didn't know he possessed. "Will you give me a chance to prove to you I can do better?" 

Harry grabbed Draco by the back of his neck and pulled him close. Against Draco's lips he mumbled, "I couldn't leave you even if I tried. I'd come chasing after you across the globe. Maybe I'm crazy, or maybe you're truly worth it for me." 

"I'll do better," Draco promised, fumbling with his own belt and trousers, hoping beyond all hope that he still had a condom in his wallet. 

"Yeah? You better," Harry said with a genuine smile and relaxed. 

Draco had never wanted to keep a promise more. He wanted to be more for Harry, just like how Harry had been _more_ for him.

-*-*-

The next morning, Draco woke up in Harry's bed with Harry wrapped around his body. He'd never been much for so much close contact with a partner but with Harry, they simply seemed to connect. Throughout the whole night, at least one part of their body was always touching, and whenever Draco stirred, Harry moved with him. They woke up randomly in the middle a few times and went at it as if they'd been deprived of touch, or of each other, for years and years, while it'd only been a week or so. 

It was around seven o'clock when his mobile buzzed and Draco turned himself away from Harry to answer it. It was a message from Astoria with a video file. Draco played the video and kept the volume low. The message attached to the video was "Scorpius's Class Performance," and it showed Scorpius dressed in a suit, along with four other children doing a class presentation. Scorpius seemed the most confident in the group, and Draco's heart warmed at seeing himself in that little boy. He smiled to himself when the mobile buzzed again with another message. 

_Astoria: Driving Scorpius to the bus stop and he wanted me to send that video to you._

_Draco: Thanks so much. I love it. I'll be watching it over and over again and feeling proud of the Malfoy genes._

_Astoria: Looking forward to seeing you soon. Scorpius says 'make it quick'_

_Draco: Working on it. Sooner than you'd think._

_Astoria: Excellent news._

"Who's that?" Harry asked putting on his glasses and coming close to Draco. 

"Astoria. She sent me a video of Scorpius. Her— I mean, my son. Or well, _our_ son." 

"Oh?" Harry asked, and though he sounded slightly confused, there wasn't any anger or jealousy in his tone. "I thought you'd said she and her…" 

"I'm the biological father, and I was very close to giving up my rights so Pansy could be the second legal parent but…I don't plan to do it anymore. They'd asked me when they were still married but with Astoria and Pansy going through a divorce…" 

"Ah. Makes sense," Harry said, kissing Draco's shoulder. "You sound very proud of him." 

"I am. He's a great kid." 

Harry smiled and pulled on Draco's arm so he could see his phone clearly and looked at the paused video and Scorpius's image. "I'd like to meet him someday." Harry's comment surprised Draco. 

"What?" Harry asked, looking worried. "You don't want me to? I mean, I didn't mean like this month or anything…If you're ready or… Shit, I've done it again, haven't I?" 

Draco laughed and he put the mobile on the side table and pulled Harry on top of him. "We should take things slow but that's a good idea. I would want you to meet him. Scorpius should meet all the important people in their parents' lives." 

Harry rocked his hips against Draco's and kissed him. 

"You've completely changed my life, you know," Draco said, remembering how if he hadn't had that falling out with Harry in the first place, he wouldn't have taken the holiday to go and see Scorpius. 

"I could say the same. I didn't think I'd find the right man I could find balance with. Someone that I would enjoy both business _and_ pleasure. 

Draco's hand cupped the back of Harry's head and they kissed and kissed and kissed. It felt like an eternity until Draco's mobile alarm went on and he realised that he had to go home and get ready for work. 

"Take a shower with me," Harry whispered. "And spend the day with me, please? We can both skip off work. We are the bosses, right?" 

Draco laughed and turned them around so this time Draco was on top of Harry. "The shower sounds great, but I can't skip off work. I have a very important business meeting with my partner. Turns out, I've got this incredible project to me by this incredible man in my arms…and I'm going to be very busy." 

Harry kissed Draco's nose and chuckled. "Well, I think I have a very similar meeting with _your_ business partner, and it isn't until lunch so can we take the morning off and maybe I can bring a few change of clothes to your place? Or perhaps you can pick some things up to bring here?" 

"That sounds like the opposite of slow, Potter." Draco pretended to be worried but on the inside, he was jumping with joy. Harry had practically reduced him to a love-stricken teenager. The dream of sharing his nights with Harry, every night from now on, was beyond wonderful. 

"Yes, well. Slow is boring anyway." 

Draco realised he sort of loved Harry for always being so driven; in business _and_ in pleasure. 

THE END.


End file.
